Russian pranksters trick 3 senior OpenAI officials in 17-minute call posing as Ukraine intel chief

Three senior OpenAI national security officials were duped into a video call by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who impersonated Ukraine’s intelligence chief. The call touched on offensive military AI. OpenAI has confirmed the prank and says it has tightened security.

Three senior OpenAI national security officials were tricked into a 17-minute video meeting with Russian pranksters posing as a senior Ukrainian government official. The incident came to light on November 11, 2026, after US investigative news outlet The Intercept published a report detailing how the duo, known as Vovan and Lexus, allegedly impersonated Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, to arrange the meeting.

The discussion reportedly included the possibility of using AI to conduct offensive military operations against Russia, as well as OpenAI's military cooperation with Ukraine. After the meeting, a video was uploaded to Rumble showing the event. Since then, OpenAI has confirmed the event, stating that they investigated the call and took steps to prevent further security breaches.

How Russian pranksters tricked OpenAI executives

According to The Intercept's November 11 report, the pranksters arranged the meeting by impersonating Umerov and approaching a senior Ukrainian official in San Francisco. The official thought it was a sincere request, so he assisted in an introduction to the national security team at OpenAI.

The three senior officials joined the video conference: Sasha Baker, head of national security policy; Caroline Zier, lead for strategic initiatives; and Ben Crampton, who leads European national security initiatives. They were all senior officials in government and international bodies before their time.

The impersonator reportedly kept his camera switched off during the conversation. However, Baker and Zier seemed to believe they were speaking with Umerov, as both mentioned having met the Ukrainian official earlier.

Pragya Singha Roy