Russian Pranksters Trick Irish Premier Varadkar on Call

Olivia Fletcher and Jennifer Duggan
·2 min read
4

(Bloomberg) -- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar became the latest world leader to fall victim to Russian pranksters, who tricked him into a call during which he said there isn’t a prospect of Ukraine joining the European Union soon.

Most Read from Bloomberg

EU membership in the near future is “not very likely,” Varadkar is heard saying on the call in a video posted online Tuesday by tricksters known as Vovan and Lexus. Varadkar believed he was speaking with a representative of the African Union Commission.

A spokesperson for Varadkar confirmed that a call took place “earlier this year” adding that the video has been doctored and “does not represent what actually took place.” It’s unclear from the video if the footage released on Tuesday was altered.

The call is believed to have been set up by Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov who have for years been tricking public figures into talking to them. Others who have been pranked include Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni.

On the call, Varadkar also said the war in Ukraine is unlikely to end soon, adding that Ireland was unlikely to provide security guarantees to the country for neutrality reasons.

Varadkar also appears to say that he hopes for Irish unity. “There is not yet a majority in Northern Ireland who want to see unification but I hope at some point in my lifetime that will happen,” Varadkar said.

The caller also compared Irish reunification with Crimea and Russia, to which Varadkar said: “Russia invaded and then organized a bogus referendum. That is definitely not what we are going to do.”

Ireland’s government has notified the Irish embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the African Union Commission and the National Cyber Security Centre about the call.

Varadkar’s spokesperson said the prime minister ended the conversation due to “suspicions about its nature and the manner in which it was conducted.”

“Say hello to your leprechauns,” the prankster said as the call finished.

--With assistance from Torrey Clark.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.