In Spain, in the municipality of Miranda de Ebro, a 74-year-old man was detained, who is suspected of sending letters with explosives, in particular to the address of the Embassy of Ukraine.
This is reported by El Pais.
The man is believed to be the sender of at least six letters. Among the recipients were the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez, as well as the embassies of Ukraine and the USA in Madrid.
According to the media, the Spaniard acted independently and was not connected to any political or extremist group. He worked as an official of the city council of the city of Vitoria (Basque Country).
According to media reports, the arrested man, a Spanish citizen, allegedly acted alone and was not affiliated with any group. Currently, the police are searching his place of residence in Burgos.
In January of this year, The New York Times wrote that the United States and Europe hold Russia responsible for the mass mailing of letters with explosives and bloodshot eyes of animals. Particular attention in Spain has been focused on the Russian Imperial Movement, a radical group with members and partners across Europe, as well as military-style training centers in St. Petersburg. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that at least 12 Ukrainian embassies received such letters from November to December last year. Similar letters were also received by the departments of the countries that supply weapons to Ukraine.
- On November 30, an explosion rang out in the Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid, as a result of which an employee of the institution was slightly injured. An envelope that arrived at the embassy exploded in the commandantʼs hands. After that, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine instructed to urgently strengthen the security of all Ukrainian embassies abroad, and the Spanish authorities declared that they consider the explosion to be a terrorist attack.
- After that, envelopes with explosive devices were received by the company Instalaza, which produces weapons for Ukraine, the office of the Prime Minister of Spain, the Ministry of Defense, the Torrejon de Ardos Air Base and the U.S. Embassy in Spain.
- On December 2, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, and consulates in Naples, Brno, and Krakow received bloody packages containing animal eyes.