Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid received a new suspicious package

This Friday, the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid received a package with alleged bloodstains, similar to those received by various organizations in the past few hours, with a large detachment of police immediately taking the place of the diplomatic delegation.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, the package is similar to those received by embassies and consulates in a number of European countries, but it is still impossible to draw conclusions, since “an investigation is underway.”

Parcels visibly bloodied and containing animal eyes were sent to Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, although suspicious parcels have also been registered at the country’s consulates in Poland, the Czech Republic and Italy.

“The parcels themselves were saturated with a distinctly smelling liquid and had a certain smell. We are studying the meaning of these messages,” said the spokesman, quoted 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 was already the scene of yet another alert on Wednesday when it received a booby-trapped letter that left a worker with minor injuries.

The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has confirmed receipt by various organizations of six parcels containing a “flashfire” mechanism when opened, the first of which was sent on November 24 to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. .

“We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation is being 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 cooperates with the authorities of the countries concerned to investigate all cases and analyze the threats received.

By order of Kuleba, Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad were put on high alert and security.

The Ukrainian embassy in Lisbon, contacted by the Lusa agency, declined to comment on the events.

For his part, Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho told Lusa that he had instructed Portuguese embassies to increase their caution when receiving mail and ensured that Portuguese missions abroad “will be attentive, depending on what has happened in Spain lately” . days.”

The minister acknowledged that a circular with recommendations had been sent to the Portuguese missions and embassies, but chose not to give further details on the procedures, citing security concerns.

Portuguese authorities have stepped up security at the Ukrainian embassy in Lisbon and have admitted to overestimating the threat level in Portugal after decoy letters were received in Spain, the Internal Security Service (SSI) said on Friday.

In response to a request for clarification from Lusa, following the news of receiving at least six letters booby-trapped in Spain, SSI confirmed that the Anti-Terrorism Coordination Group (UCAT), which operates under the internal security system, is “closely monitoring the situation” and is in “close contact with their Spanish, European and international partners”.