Audio of British Def. Sec. Wallace entertaining Ukrainian nuclear ambitions on phone call w/ a prankster he believed to be the Ukrainian PM was just released.
The MoD insists YouTube take it down, calling it Russian propaganda —and “a substantial risk to UK National security”🧵
Right out the gate, Wallace promises new anti-aircraft systems and takes a not-so-subtle shot at France & Germany. Then the UK Defence Sec. seems genuinely unsure whether or not the ‘Ukrainian Prime Minister’ realizes a No-Fly Zone would likely do the regime more harm than good:
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace: “We are not going to directly attack Russian ships or airplanes… at this stage” though it’s a “difficult thing for me to say.” However, he promises more weapons & to let Ukraine regime help decide how close British warships buzz the Russian navy
“We have always wanted you to join NATO, which is why our training teams were there… over the last five years” UK Defence Minister tells pretend Ukrainian Prime Minister. He blames other NATO nations for failure to secure Ukraine’s membership
INSANE: Phony Ukraine PM asks for help with nuclear weapons & actual British Defence Secretary replies UK “will support Ukraine” if they “want to explore new weapons.”
Apparently there were even wilder segments removed due to potential impact on “the national security of the UK”
British Defence Secretary advises a man he incorrectly believes to be the Ukrainian Prime Minister to “just be very careful” about efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
As a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the UK “can’t be seen to be” involved.
In other words: CYA.
Wallace almost loses his cool when he senses he’s being blamed for foreign mercenaries fleeing Ukraine on arrival. After a brief lecture on the concept of a “free press,” the UK Defense Secretary labels British field medic and 6-year veteran Jake Priday an “idiot” and a “failure”
The only time the British Defense Secretary actually seems to verge on a moment of clarity is when the pair of pranksters tries to coach him into chanting “Slava Vovan and Lexus.” Even then it’s not enough!
Missed this earlier—naturally UK would prefer to use Ukrainians as cannon fodder “at this stage.” But will they to fight Russia themselves at “the next stage?” Wallace seems unwilling to go beyond current deployments in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania & Ukraine “orbital training team”
Pranksters request “newer NLAW anti-tank weapons,” saying those previously delivered by the UK “often fail.” Wallace tells fake Ukraine PM they’ve already sent 4,000+ (“We’re running out of our own!”) and shifts blame to “the Ukrainian General Staff” for logistical bottlenecks.
NLAWs a central focus of the British MoD takedown demand, which incidentally reads like a mob boss ultimatum:
“I am confident you would not wish to be a conduit for Russian propaganda or be in any way associated with the potential consequences of this kind of media manipulation”
In sum: UK MoD responded to being duped by the dudes who prank called Lukashenko & Elton John by
- calling it propaganda, blaming the “Russian state”
- demanding YouTube “remove (or at least block) access to the video”
- not disputing the substance of his comments in the least
Full video available on the Vovan and Lexus YouTube channel here:
“The episode raises serious questions about the security & defence failings that led to pranksters getting through to one of the UK’s most senior ministers & managing to get him to talk about a highly sensitive military & diplomatic situation in Ukraine”🤡
theguardian.com/world/2022/mar…
It wasn’t just Ben Wallace—Home Secretary Priti Patel reportedly fell for it too & an investigation has been announced. Hopefully it goes better than the investigation they did 4 years ago after the same exact guys called Boris Johnson pretending to be the Armenian Prime Minister
Whoops
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