UK Govt Pressures YouTube to Censor Video of Defence Sec’s Embarrassing Call with Fake Ukrainian Prime Minister

Britain’s Ministry of Defence pressured YouTube to remove footage of a Russian YouTuber fooling the Defence Secretary into thinking he was the Ukrainian prime minister, claiming it had been “doctored”.

Ben Wallace MP was left red-faced after Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, managed to bypass Ministry of Defence security while posing as Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, managing to record a video call with the Cabinet minister on the 18th of March.

Vovan and Lexus have pulled similar pranks for years, successfully fooling high-profile figures including Sir Elton John, the President of Turkey, the former President of Ukraine, U.S. energy secretary Rick Perry, and even Boris Johnson during his time as Foreign Secretary.