President Andrei Duda’s office confirmed on Tuesday that the call came last week after an audio recording that two Russian scammers say was at the base circulated online. The pair have a history of deceiving high-profile people and are believed to have ties to the Russian security services.
Duda’s office tweeted: “After the Bzhivodov missile explosion and during constant phone calls with heads of state and government, there was a phone call with someone claiming to be French President Emmanuel Macron.” “Duda realized from the way in the caller was conducting the conversation that could be an attempt to defraud and hung up,” he added.
Asked if they were behind the call, Russian scammers Vovan and Lexus confirmed: “We’ve said it on all the social media and we posted a video.” During the November 15 call, a person with a Russian accent claimed to be Macron and spoke in amicable way of the deadly missile explosion near the Ukrainian border that day.
It is now widely believed that the explosion was caused by a missile fired by Ukrainian defences, although initial speculation pointed the finger at Russia. “Hi, Emmanuel. Thanks for calling. It’s very difficult, you know,” said Duda. He added that the explosion was caused by a missile “that was fired and we don’t know who is responsible” and that he is awaiting the results of the investigation. “Emmanuel, believe me, I’m very careful. I don’t blame the Russians. I don’t want to go in in war with Russia.”
Duda also said Poland was not considering abiding by Article 5 of the treaty establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which requires member states to help each other in case of attack on one of them. The Polish president was also asked about Russian allegations that Kiev is preparing to use dirty bombs and replied: ‘I’m more concerned about some problems with nuclear power plants in Ukraine. I’m more concerned about a nuclear catastrophe.”
