Kurti is not the only one – these are the stories of some world-renowned names who 'fell into the trap' of two Russian comedians

Famous Russian comedians, "Vovan & Lexus", have published a video in which they say they have deceived the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, by posing as the president of Latvia.

They have published a video on their account, where Kurti is heard talking about Russian hybrid warfare, then answers a question about the attack on Ibër Lepenc, talks about the security situation, and other issues.

But Kurti is not their only victim. They have even "trapped" a large number of world-renowned personalities, including prime ministers and presidents, reports the Telegraph.

Known by their aliases, Vovan and Lexus, the duo have been deceiving world leaders and celebrities for many years with a form that involves them masquerading as other leaders or high-ranking officials.

Their scams have sparked high-level investigations by governments, raising concerns about breaches of intelligence sources and possible links to Russian security services.

According to foreign media, the Telegraph reports, it all started with Kuznetsov, a lawyer, and Stolyarov, an economist, making phone calls within Russia and joking with Russian celebrities before getting involved in domestic politics and finally moving onto the international stage.

Read too Russian comedians claim they tricked Albin Kurti, posing as Latvian president

They first gained international fame when they called Elton John, pretending to be Russian President Vladimir Putin, in 2015.

The British singer, a fierce critic of Russia's anti-LGBT+ laws, had said he wanted to meet Mr Putin to talk about gay rights.

Stolyarov played Mr. Putin and Kuznetsov was Mr. Dmitry Peskov.

After the call, John made a public post on Instagram – before the Kremlin immediately denied any involvement and it soon emerged that pranksters were behind the incident.

Additionally, in February 2016, the pair claimed to have "fooled" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by pretending to be then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

During the call, a voice resembling that of the Turkish leader conveyed a refusal to apologize to Russia for the November incident in which Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian plane that was allegedly violating Turkish airspace.

A spokesman for the Turkish president's administration denied the authenticity of the call. However, the pair remain steadfast in their claim that they successfully "connected" with the Turkish leader.

They have repeatedly claimed that they have no political agenda, but their work, including their calls for pro-Ukrainian figures, appears to indicate a strong alignment with the Kremlin's views and may even have obtained information that could be useful to it.

According to foreign media, reports Telegraph, Boris Johnson became the victim of a scam phone call when he was working as Foreign Secretary in 2018 and discussed UK-Russia relations and beyond.

The British government said the Russian state was behind the hoax, which it says was designed to plant false information and embarrass Britain.

The 18-minute recording of the call was shared on YouTube by pro-Kremlin British journalist Graham Phillip and the pair later described Johnson as "very diplomatic" in private, in contrast to his very "flamboyant" public persona.

In one of their boldest efforts, the pair reached out to Prince Harry around 2020.

The Duke of Sussex responded to their email by sharing his personal email and phone number, exposing security gaps in Buckingham Palace's protection for Harry and Meghan at a time when they had not yet relinquished their royal titles.

Also in February 2020, Kuznetsov and Stolyarov pranked Bernie Sanders, at a time when he was running for the Oval Office. Mr. Kuznetsov again pretended to be Ms. Thunberg and Mr. Stolyarov was her father.

That same year, they pranked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau using the same fake identities and also discussed world politics.

The 10-minute long conversation was posted on YouTube during which Mr. Trudeau realized it was a prank call when they prompted him to introduce himself to South Park characters Terrance and Phillip.

Read too Kurti fell prey to fraud by two Russian comedians, the Prime Minister's Office reacts

Since the start of the war in Russia, pranksters have targeted a dozen senior European MPs as they switched to video calls and began using more sophisticated filters to impersonate Russian opposition figures.

European parliamentarians from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and the UK said they had been deceived, too.

Meanwhile, in September 2023, the two jokers called Ms. Giorgia Meloni, who became Italy's first female prime minister as the leader of a far-right party.

She shared her thoughts on the war in Ukraine and her frustration with the influx of migrants.

She is reported to have said that there is "a lot of fatigue... from all sides" about Russia's war in Ukraine.

In a 13-minute recording released by the pranksters, Ms Meloni claimed that Kiev's counterattack "did not change the fate of the conflict".

The Italian leader believed she was speaking to senior African Union officials in the call on September 18, the day before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, but her office later admitted she had "been misled."Telegraph/