This Friday, the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid received a package with alleged traces of blood, similar to those received by various entities in the last few hours, immediately occupying a large police detachment in the vicinity of the diplomatic delegation.
According to the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko, the package is similar to those received by embassies and consulates in several European countries, but it is not yet possible to draw any conclusions, since “investigations are ongoing.”
The packages, apparently bloodstained and with animal eyes, were sent to Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, although suspicious shipments were also registered at the country’s consulates in Poland, the Czech Republic and Italy. .
“The packages themselves were soaked with a liquid with a characteristic odor and had a certain stench. We are studying the meaning of these messages,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Spanish news agency Europa Press.
Nikolenko also said that several people broke into the residence of the Ukrainian ambassador in the Vatican and the Ukrainian embassy in Kazakhstan as part of a series of attacks on the country’s diplomatic missions.
The Ukrainian embassy in Madrid had already been the scene of another alert, on Wednesday, when it received a booby-trapped letter, which caused minor injuries to a worker.
The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has confirmed the receipt, by different entities, of six packages with a mechanism that causes a “sudden deflagration of the flame” when opened, the first of which was sent, on November 24, to the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez.
“We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation has been launched against Ukrainian embassies and consulates,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday.
“Unable to stop Ukraine on the diplomatic front, they are trying to intimidate us. However, I can say that this will not work. We will continue to work effectively to achieve victory in Ukraine,” he added.
Ukraine is cooperating with the authorities of the countries involved to investigate all cases and analyze the threats received.
Ukraine’s diplomatic missions abroad were placed under the highest level of alert and security, by order of Kuleba.
Contacted by the Lusa agency, the Ukrainian embassy in Lisbon refused to comment on the facts.
For his part, the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, told Lusa that he gave instructions to the Portuguese embassies to reinforce care in receiving mail and guaranteed that the Portuguese missions abroad “are attentive, depending on what has happened in Spain in recent days”.
The minister admitted that a circular was sent to the Portuguese representations and embassies, with recommendations, but preferred not to give more details about the procedures, citing security reasons.
The Portuguese authorities have reinforced the protection of the Ukrainian embassy in Lisbon and admit to having reassessed the threat level in Portugal, after entities in Spain received booby-trapped letters, the Internal Security System (SSI) announced today.
In response to a request for clarification from Lusa, following the news of the receipt of at least six booby-trapped letters in Spain, the SSI confirmed that the Anti-Terrorist Coordination Unit (UCAT), which operates within the framework of the Internal Security System , “is closely monitoring the situation” and that it is in “close coordination with its Spanish, European and international partners”.
Source: TSF
