Opposition parties in Greece are calling for the resignation of the prime minister’s top national security adviser after he was duped by well-known Russian pranksters into revealing sensitive information about Greek security.

The notorious Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus struck again, this time targeting Thanos Dokos, the national security adviser to Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek leader.

Posing as Ukrainian security advisor Rustem Umerov, they discussed a range of issues, including a recently discovered Ukrainian sea drone carrying explosives that was found in Greek waters, an incident that triggered a strong political reaction in Athens.

“I thought I was speaking to Umerov… It was live – I could see him, just as I can see you,” Dokos told Skai TV.

He insisted that the timing was no coincidence, coming just ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, where Ukraine is expected to dominate the agenda.

Dokos also spoke about domestic politics, suggesting that the next general election, officially due in 2027, could be brought forward and held within the next few months.

The New Democracy government sought to play down the incident, insisting that no classified information had been disclosed and attributing it to a sophisticated AI-enabled hybrid attack. The Russian pranksters, however, claimed that all they had done was send an email via Gmail.

The affair has sparked a fierce political row in Athens, with opposition parties describing it as a diplomatic fiasco that raised serious questions about Greece’s national security procedures.

“Dokos disclosed the overseas visits of the head of Greece’s National Intelligence Service,” the main opposition socialist party, PASOK, said in a statement calling for his resignation.

Vovan and Lexus have previously targeted a number of senior European officials, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Following a similar prank call in 2023, Meloni’s diplomatic adviser, Francesco Maria Talò, resigned.

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Source: https://www.euractiv.com/news/russian-prank-sparks-political-row-in-athens/

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