Prankster impersonates Macron, speaks to Duda following Poland blast
3 Min Read
Polish President Andrzej Duda is pranked by Russian pranksters pretending to be his French counterpart in one of the tensest moments in Europe this year.
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Polish President Andrzej Duda
Polish President Andrzej Duda spoke to what turned out to be a Russian prankster pretending to be French President Emmanuel Macron after the blast that took place in Poland, Duda's office said on Tuesday, a week after the event that spiked concerns about a possible escalation that many warmongerers claimed would lead to WWIII.
Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus published a nearly-eight-minute call with Duda, in which he was speaking in English, with the comedians speaking in a French accent.
This is the second call of the sort that the Russian pranksters got through to the Polish president in recent years, and it took place on one of the world's most tense night since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
The missile launch that exploded in Poland sparked a dispute last Wednesday between Ukraine and its western allies, with Nato, Warsaw, and the US saying that Kiev's air defense forces were likely responsible.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed this, saying he had "no doubt" the missile that landed near the Ukrainian border in the village of Przewodów, killing two people, was not a Ukrainian missile.
Due to uncertainty - at the time - regarding the party that fired the missile, Poland suggested invoking NATO's Article 4, which means that the alliance's members "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Poland's statements about "Russian missiles" were a deliberate provocation to try and escalate the situation.
They added that "the fragments published in hot pursuit by the Polish media from the scene in the village of Przewodow have nothing to do with Russian weapons."
"Emmanuel, believe me, I am extra careful," Duda told the callers. "I don't want to have war with Russia, and believe me, I am extra careful. Extra careful."
"After the missile explosion in Przewodow, during the ongoing calls with heads of state and government, a person claiming to be French President Emmanuel Macron was connected," Duda's office wrote on Twitter, noting that Duda noticed that the person he was talking to was talking unusually, and he ended the call soon after.
Po eksplozji rakiety w Przewodowie, w czasie trwających łączeń z głowami państw i szefów rządów doszło do połączenia z osobą podającą się za Prezydenta Francji Emmanuela Macrona. 1/2
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) November 22, 2022
The first time this kind of prank call took place, Vovan and Lexus called Duda pretending to be UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, raising speculations and concerns about the security in the Polish President's office.
Vovan and Lexus are known for their videos prank-calling celebrities and politicians alike, with their list of "victims" including French President Emmanuel Macron, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and British singer Elton John.
During the G20 Summit in Bali, the morning after the explosion, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, British Foreign Secretary Rishi Sunak, and Canadian President Justin Trudeau discuss the missile strike in Poland with their respective foreign ministers.
