Russia's top diplomat has referred to a conversation that allegedly took place between former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and two renowned pranksters, in which they discussed Ukraine and Donald Trump.
Russian state media reported how Clinton had been taken in by Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov. They are more familiarly known as Vovan and Lexus, who have achieved notoriety by duping world figures to speak to them. The Russian duo's targets include Henry Kissinger in July 2023; the former U.S. President George W. Bush in May 2022; and Prince Harry in 2020.
Newsweek cannot independently verify the authenticity of the latest recording by the pair shared on the platform Rumble, or whether it has been digitally manipulated. Newsweek has contacted Clinton's spokesperson by email for comment and will update the story in the event of a reply.
The alleged call addressed concerns Ukraine might have if Trump were to win the U.S. presidential election in November. The Republican has repeatedly criticized continued U.S. support for Kyiv against Vladimir Putin's aggression and has said, without providing details, that he could end the war within a day.
A report in Politico citing those in his inner circle said that, if reelected, Trump would look at blocking NATO's eastward expansion into Ukraine and would try to negotiate with Putin over how much Ukrainian territory Moscow can keep.
News agency RIA Novosti was among Russian outlets reporting that, posing as Petro Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, one of the pranksters, although it is not clear which one, suggested to Clinton that a Ukrainian parliamentary hearing could find something on Trump, which could be used to attack him on all sides.
"Good, anything you can do to attack him, I'm all for it," was the purported reply from Clinton.
"He is a very dangerous candidate, and he would be very bad to the United States as well as the rest of the world, including Ukraine," Clinton also purportedly said in the clip, although she added that she did not think Trump would win the election. Newsweek has also contacted the Trump campaign team for comment by email.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referenced the interview when asked by a Kremlin-friendly journalist Pavel Zarubin about whether Putin's peace plan for Ukraine, which has been roundly rejected internationally, came up during his talks with Chinese officials in the Kazakhstan capital Astana.
"China firmly supports a peaceful settlement," Lavrov said. "We share this approach. We have repeatedly commented on Chinese initiatives. But you know that Ukraine refuses any negotiations."
Repeating Kremlin rhetoric, the Russian foreign minister said that neither Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky nor the West wants Ukraine to stop this war.
"The well-known Vovan and Lexus recently spoke about this with Hillary Clinton, who said clearly we must continue with their common cause," added Lavrov in the clip posted to the Russian foreign ministry Telegram account. "This is where we are now."
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About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
