Russian pranksters posing as Ukraine's intelligence chief tricked OpenAI security officials into video call

OpenAI confirmed that it had investigated the incident and concluded the call was a prank.

“Weeks ago, we launched a thorough investigation into the call’s authenticity,” OpenAI spokesperson Nate Evans told The Intercept. “We acted internally and with the relevant authorities to conclude that it was a prank conducted by individuals with a history of targeting officials and other companies.”

Evans said the company had taken steps to prevent similar incidents.

The Russian duo known as Vovan and Lexus said they posed as Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, who also led Kyiv's delegation at peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week.

The 17-minute video call involved Sasha Baker, OpenAI's head of national security policy; Caroline Zier, who leads strategic initiatives; and Ben Crampton, who oversees the company's European national security engagement. All three previously held government positions.

The recording, uploaded by the pranksters, shows the officials discussing OpenAI's potential support for Ukraine's defense against Russia, including possible offensive military applications of artificial intelligence.

“There’s no question, I think, from our perspective that we want to have as deep a relationship as we possibly can with Ukraine,” Crampton said when asked about offensive military AI services.

“But it may not be possible to get to where we want to be straight away.”

He added that some senior OpenAI officials were reluctant to become deeply involved in offensive military uses of the company's technology.

“Part of our job is to explain that offense and defense are not necessarily distinguishable from each other under certain circumstances,” Crampton said.

Baker said OpenAI had been in contact with the Pentagon about assistance to Ukraine.

The officials also discussed work with the Ukrainian government involving Daybreak Blue, an AI model designed to identify and help fix computer security vulnerabilities, and preliminary contacts with Ukraine's Defense Ministry through a colleague who had previously worked with the team behind Delta, Ukraine's military situational awareness system.

The conversation did not establish that OpenAI had supplied Ukraine with AI tools for offensive operations.

According to The Intercept, Baker and Zier both said they had met Umerov before and were pleased to speak with him again. The person impersonating Umerov apparently kept his camera switched off throughout the call.

Vladimir Kuznetsov, who uses the stage name Vovan, told The Intercept that the pranksters arranged the meeting by first contacting a senior Ukrainian official in San Francisco while posing as Umerov.

According to Kuznetsov, the official had been trying to establish contacts with OpenAI through the Ukrainian community in California and offered to arrange the meeting.

The conversation also touched on Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to Ukraine.

Asked whether OpenAI could help counter Musk's influence, Baker replied: “I'm afraid we probably can't help you with Elon Musk. He's not a fan of our CEO either, if it helps you at all. So, we're in the same boat.”

Baker also expressed support for Ukraine despite Trump's increasingly critical statements about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying she believed most of the U.S. government, the American public and OpenAI's researchers remained supportive of Kyiv.

Vovan and Lexus have carried out impersonation calls targeting politicians and public figures for years. Their pranks have frequently aligned with Russian foreign policy priorities, although the duo deny allegations of working with the Russian government.