Russia responsible for hoax calls to Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, says No 10

A hoax caller claiming to be the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, was able to get through and speak directly to the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace. Photograph: Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

The Russian state was responsible for hoax calls to Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, pretending to be the Ukrainian prime minister, Downing Street has said.

In its first statement attributing blame for the video calls, No 10 said it believed Russian state actors were responsible, without giving more details on who linked to the Kremlin had been identified as being behind the attempts.