Russian trolls “Vovan” and “Lexus” claim to have tricked Merkel – phone call published

The ex-Chancellor spoke to Petro Peroshenko on the phone in early 2023 - at least that's what she believed, according to two activists close to the Kremlin.

Berlin/Moscow - Russian trolls claim to have tricked ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel - at least that's what they say themselves. "Wowan" and "Lexus", specializing in disinformation, published excerpts from a staged telephone call with Merkel on Monday (February 20). .

The topic was the Ukraine conflict.

The office of ex-Chancellor Merkel confirmed to the dpa news agency that there was a telephone conversation.

"I can confirm a phone call with a caller who posed as former (Ukrainian) President Petro Peroshenko," a spokeswoman for Merkel said on request.

Russian trolls put Merkel in: Selenskyj predecessor Poroshenko not on the phone

The Russians with the stage names Wowan and Lexus have repeatedly fooled celebrities by posing as false names.

"The phone call took place on January 12, 2023, supported by German-Ukrainian translation by the language service of the Federal Foreign Office," says a statement from Merkel's office.

"The Chancellor a.

D. then informed the Federal Foreign Office about the impression she had gotten from the caller during the call.” During her tenure in office, Merkel frequently dealt with Poroshenko.

The 57-year-old was the predecessor of current President Volodymyr Zelenskyj from 2014 to 2019.