UK blames Russia for hoax calls to ministers

The UK government on Monday accused Russia of deploying distraction tactics and outright lies as part of a disinformation campaign around the Ukraine conflict, including making hoax calls to British ministers.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had referenced receiving such fake calls over social media last week.

Downing Street has confirmed that they were targeted alongside Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to hide the scale of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

''The Russian state was responsible for the hoax telephone calls made to UK ministers last week,'' British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesperson at 10 Downing Street told reporters.

''This is standard practice for Russian information operations. Disinformation is a tactic straight from the Kremlin playbook to try to distract from their illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights abuses being committed there.

''We are seeing a string of distraction stories and outright lies from the Kremlin, reflecting Putin's desperation as he seeks to hide the scale of the conflict and Russia's failings on the battlefield,'' the spokesperson said.

Downing Street has said that the calls should never have happened and a cross-department inquiry has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the calls.

Last week, Wallace took to Twitter to reveal that an attempt was made by "an imposter" claiming to be Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to speak with him.

"He posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious, I terminated the call. No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia's human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukraine. A desperate attempt," he tweeted on Thursday.

In response, Patel said on Twitter: "This also happened to me earlier this week. Pathetic attempt at such difficult times to divide us. We stand with Ukraine." The UK government has stressed that it remains vigilant against such actions attributed to the Kremlin.