Ukrainian embassies across Europe are on high alert after receiving exploding letters and animal eyes, in what Kyiv's foreign minister has called "a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation."
Newsweek reports similar tactics were used at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid on Wednesday, with the embassy's manager hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after opening an exploding letter.
The disturbing packages have also been sent beyond the embassies to other governmental agencies. In a statement Thursday, Spain's interior ministry said that a "pyrotechnical" substance was sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Nov. 24, but it was intercepted by security services before it reached the Spanish leader.
According to Newsweek, the incendiary packages were also sent to the U.S. embassy in Madrid, a weapons manufacturer in the northern city of Zaragoza and a European Union satellite center located at the Torrejón de Ardoz airbase. The packages were likely sent from within Spain, Newsweek reports, citing preliminary investigations.
On Friday, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry confirmed that the country's embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Austria were sent letters with animal eyes in them, covered in liquid, and the ambassador's residence at the Vatican was vandalized.
Oleg Nikolenko, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, "Ukrainian embassies and consulates continue to receive threats."
"After the terrorist attack in Spain to embassies in Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Consulates General in Naples and Krakow, the consulates in Brno received covered packages, Nikolenko continued in the Facebook post. "The packages contained animal eyes. The packages themselves were impregnated with a liquid of characteristic color and had a corresponding smell. We study the meaning of this message."
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the attempts at intimidation "futile."
"Not being able to stop Ukraine on the diplomatic front, they try to intimidate us," Kuleba said. "However, I can immediately say that these attempts are futile. We will continue to effectively work for Ukraine's victory."
Following the discovery of the first package earlier this week, the minister said that whomever was responsible for the letters "will not succeed in intimidating Ukrainian diplomats or stopping their daily work on strengthening Ukraine and countering Russian aggression."
All Ukrainian embassies and consulates are now operating with "enhanced security measures," according to the foreign ministry.
"We urge foreign governments to guarantee maximum protection of Ukrainian diplomatic institutions in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the Facebook statement said.
The Russian embassy in Madrid released a statement on Twitter on Thursday, condemning the attacks via post.
"We declare that any threat or terrorist act, even more so directed against a diplomatic mission, is totally reprehensible," the embassy tweeted.
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