U.K. accuses Russia of hoax phone calls to British cabinet ministers.
Russia was behind two hoax phone calls placed to top British cabinet ministers by a person pretending to be Ukraine’s prime minister, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday.
The calls — to Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel — were purportedly from Denys Shmyhal, the prime minister of Ukraine. A third call, targeting the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, did not go through.
“The Russian state was responsible for the hoax telephone calls made to U.K. ministers last week,” said the Downing Street spokesman, who by custom was not identified by name. He did not give more specific details.
Mr. Wallace said on Twitter that he had been targeted by an impostor who “posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious, I terminated the call.”