In the call, the voice said to be Barkashov insists on falsifying the results of the referendum, that he had communicated with Putin, and that it cannot be postponed. Yuri Vendik of the BBC noted that a 5 May post on Barkashov's social media page recounted a phone call from "our brothers and comrades-in-arms in Donetsk" that sounds exactly like the SBU intercept. Barkashov later confirmed that he was in Donetsk during the alleged taping, and has stated that his group was organising volunteer troops to fight "the vicious Kiev junta." SBU stated that this tape is a definitive proof of the direct involvement of Russian government with preparations for the referendum.