Spanish authorities have intercepted three new packages addressed to two separate consulates of Ukraine in Spain this week containing animal eyes following several other packages sent last week.
The Spanish National Police reported intercepting three envelopes containing animal eyes addressed to Ukrainian consulates in Barcelona and Malaga, stating that the packages were examined for explosives but none were found.
The three new packages are just the latest to be sent to Ukrainian embassies and consulates along with other diplomatic offices across at least 12 different countries in recent days, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko has stated that as many as 21 different packages and envelopes have been sent to diplomatic offices in at least twelve countries and said that Ukraine was not intimidated by any threats.
Last week, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba placed the country’s embassies and consulates on a higher security footing due to the suspicious packages, which were found in Spain, Poland, Croatia, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Italy.
Along with the macabre packages, the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid received a letter bomb in the mail which was opened by an employee of the embassy who suffered an injury to his finger as a result of the explosive, which detonated after they opened it.
Swedish terrorism expert Hans Brun noted that the bombs, which were also sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Minister of Defense Margarita Robles, the Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base, and the United States Embassy in Spain could be a sign of further similar actions to come.
“There is a clear risk that more explosive devices will appear either in Spain or in other countries against similar targets,” Bruns said.
“The choice of targets is interesting, quite a lot of shipments have been sent to important institutions. It suggests a certain degree of planning and ability to get enough material together. If more shipments like this appear, it will be interesting to follow what type of targets are attacked and, if so, where,” he added.