Deep-fake prank video call to Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey posing as Kyiv’s Vitali Klitschko

On 24 June 2022, Berlin's governing mayor Franziska Giffey took part in a scheduled video call, conducted on the Webex platform, with a person who appeared and sounded like Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv. For roughly the first 15 minutes the conversation seemed plausible, but Giffey grew suspicious as the supposed Klitschko steered the discussion toward provocative themes: he suggested Ukrainian refugees in Berlin were fraudulently claiming social benefits, appeared to call for male refugees to be sent back to Ukraine for military service, and raised the idea of organising a Christopher Street Day (Pride) event in Kyiv. According to her office, the tone and subject matter aroused distrust on the Berlin side and the call was broken off early.

Giffey's office made the incident public the same evening, and Ukrainian officials subsequently confirmed she had not spoken with the real Klitschko. The Berlin call was part of a wider series of fake conversations with European mayors attributed to the same operation. Vienna mayor Michael Ludwig was fully taken in, even issuing a press release about the supposed call, while Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida also cut short a similar video call. The episode was widely described in initial reporting as a deepfake, though specialists later questioned that characterisation, arguing the footage may instead have been edited or reassembled clips of a genuine Klitschko interview rather than AI-generated imagery.

The incident is best understood as a targeted impersonation operation aimed at European officials supporting Ukraine, designed to elicit politically damaging statements and amplify Kremlin-aligned narratives about Ukrainian refugees. Russian pranksters known as Vovan and Lexus were widely linked to the calls and reportedly acknowledged involvement; they have been described as possible proxies for Russian interests, which they deny. Giffey assessed that the content aligned with Kremlin goals. The technical method remains contested: while officials initially called it a deepfake, several analysts concluded the more likely explanation was edited or pre-cut real footage, underscoring how even low-sophistication manipulation can deceive senior figures.