Madrid Mayor falls for Russian prank posing as Kyiv official

Madrid Mayor falls for Russian prank with fake Kyiv official

A 17-minute video call. On one side, the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, convinced he was speaking with the Kyiv mayor. On the other, two Russian pranksters using a manipulated video of the Ukrainian official and an email address nearly identical to the official one. The footage has gone viral: the Madrid mayor asks to punish Russians in Spain and comments on Stepan Bandera without realizing he is being set up.

How a fake video call gets through

The setup was not a simple phone cut-off. The perpetrators allegedly sent a hook using a fake email address very similar to the institutional one and, on the other end, they placed a generated video of the Kyiv mayor that appeared to be participating live. Nothing gives the trick away at first glance: the conversation pogre, the fake interlocutor responds, and the Madrid mayor trinc the proposed script.

It is the classic pattern of deception adapted to video calls. Before, a disguised voice was enough; now, a synthetic face on a screen suffices. The same authors have reportedly played a similar trick on former minister Dolores de Cospedal, who also fell for it. The technique remains the same: target a public official, simulate authority, and let the real interlocutor fill the silence with things they should not say.

What the Mayor actually said

In the circulating clips, Martínez-Almeida maintains the need to punish Russians in Spain without distinguishing between civilians and political leaders. This is the most repeated phrase and the one that has caused the most stir: some point out he was not talking about war incivil, but about an entire group of people. This nuance is significant amidst the ongoing debate over measures against Russian nationals. The mayor reportedly played along until the end, without cutting the call or asking for verification, a detail that is highlighted as much as the statements themselves.

Stepan Bandera's name also appears. According to the prank, they feed him the idea that the Ukrainian nationalist leader was a lgtb icon and died decades ago; the mayor reacts with a belated condolence when they clarify he is dead. Another segment captures the moment he gets tangled up in English, confusing "parade" with "festival" while attempting to appear fluent.

Bandera, a name the Mayor did not recognize

Bandera is the nationalist leader whom Soviet propaganda turned into a public enemy and who today has statues in several Ukrainian cities. In the video, the mayor does not seem to place him accurately: they tell him he was a lgtb icon, that he is dead, and even attribute a role in the persecution of Jews, and he continues the conversation without correcting course. Some attribute this to negligence, while others simply blame a lack of knowledge regarding Eastern European history.

As a side note, a more earthly doubt circulates in the comments: whether Bandera is a common surname in Ukraine and where it originates, as it sounds more Spanish or Latin than Slavic to some ears. The anecdote perfectly summarizes the level of the discussion: an international episode reduced to onomastics.

The part missing from the viral clip

Some argue that the most shared fragment cuts out a portion of the full video. In that other part, according to this version, the mayor would speak about sending Ukrainians from Madrid to war and about rejecting refugees fleeing the conflict. The thesis is that the clip circulating on social media hides the most compromising content. There is no independent confirmation of this claim, and the full video—over fifteen minutes—is the only way to verify it. Meanwhile, the short clip continues to circulate without context.

From a joke to calls for resignation

The reaction has been polarized. Part of the public has taken it as a joke, celebrating that a public official has been caught on camera; another part demands consequences and calls directly for his removal from the party. There are also those calling to take the matter to court for hate speech, a legal route that is suggested more than it is pursued. And there is the deeper reading: that such a deception reveals nothing new, only confirming what was already thought.

A prankster is said to have asked the mayor about a mocking nickname he is known by, a detail that has boosted its spread. In parallel, another piece unrelated to the video has circulated regarding the mayor's personal life and a dating app offer to "help him out." An aside anecdote, but fuel for the same fire.

The exact point where it stalls

The video remains where it was: circulating, without anyone having fully explained how a fake email reached the official agenda of the Mayor of Madrid. Nor who is responsible for it. The episode also reopens the uncomfortable question: to what extent is an elected official prepared to distinguish an institutional call from a setup. The joke is already done; what remains to be seen is which institution takes responsibility for the ridicule.