Russian Pranksters Trick Madrid Mayor Into Planning Gay Festival Named After Ukrainian Nazi Bandera

Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus specialize in tricking politicians and other famous figures by playing on their lack of acquaintance to other politicians or celebrities whom the duo impersonate.

Madrid's Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has expressed his readiness to send Ukrainian refugees back to take part in the country’s hostilities after being caught off-guard by a question from Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus.

During the prank call, in which the Russians impersonated Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Martínez-Almeida said that he had no problem with sending the Ukrainians back. He was told by the pranksters that the refugees were mandated to enlist in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and either "die on the battlefield" or win the fight, instead of enjoying Spanish beaches. Martínez-Almeida added that his city is even ready to organize their transportation to Kiev.

When confronted with the proposal, the mayor replied, "Of course. I think it's not a problem. I think […] that it's necessary to provide more soldiers to fight against Russia. And Madrid [can] provide, if it would be necessary, transport to deport people to Ukraine in this moment.”

Martínez-Almeida was also generous enough to agree to organize a gay pride parade named after Stepan Bandera – the late head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, which collaborated with Nazi Germany during the Second World War in its fight against the USSR, as well as carrying out ethnic cleansing. Bandera is widely revered in Ukraine since the 2014-coup, but he is hardly the gay icon Martínez-Almeida was led to believe he is by the fake Klitschko.

Also on the call, Martínez-Almeida did not immediately oppose an idea to have naked Ukrainians protesting during the next NATO summit in Madrid, even after hearing from the pranksters that the protestors may try to smear the alliance's delegates with faeces. The mayor promised to discuss the proposal with the Ukrainian ambassador to evaluate if Kiev was certain that it was in Ukraine's best interests.

The mayor concluded by having a moment of true "Spanish shame" when he felt obliged to explain the meaning of the nickname his political opponents use for him. "Carapolla" (literally "d**kface”) suggested that the nickname stemmed from the size of his nose, but stressed that it was just an "opinion of [his] political enemies".

The Spanish city's mayor is the last victim in a long list of celebrities and politicians who have been tricked by Vovan and Lexus. The majority of them have not managed to blow the Russian’s ruse, which was apparently so successful that their channel was recently blocked by YouTube, with the pranksters themselves claiming that the ban is linked to their prank call to George W. Bush.