An envelope suspected of containing explosive material was intercepted at the US Embassy in Madrid this Thursday, bringing to six the number of similar letters identified in Spain, according to Spain’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The envelope was discovered around 12:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. in Lisbon) and the appropriate security protocol was implemented, with a police apparatus dispatched to the area of the US embassy building, the same source said.
This morning, the Spanish government’s defense secretary confirmed that five envelopes with explosives had been identified and sent to the prime minister, the Ukrainian embassy, the defense minister, a satellite center and an arms company in the past week.
“The characteristics of the casing and contents,” the material and materials typically used in pyrotechnics, “were the same in all five cases,” Foreign Secretary Rafael Perez told a news conference in Madrid.
The envelope addressed to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was intercepted last week on November 24, and the rest were identified on Wednesday and today.
An artifact inside an envelope exploded at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid on Wednesday, injuring one person without serious treatment.
In other cases, the explosive material was defused or a controlled explosion was carried out.
The Secretary of State said it would be necessary to await analyzes and investigations of “various natures” carried out by police experts and judicial inquiries before further details are known and revealed.
Rafael Pérez emphasized the “message of peace” to the people and guaranteed the preparation and professionalism of the Spanish security forces to deal with such cases.
In addition, he reiterated that the security and safety measures of all public buildings and diplomatic missions in Spain have been strengthened and that there is no reason to “convene a committee to assess the level of anti-terrorist alert”.
The foreign secretary refused to reveal whether Spanish authorities were aware of similar cases in other European countries that “helped Ukraine”.
The Instalasa company in the city of Zaragoza, in the region of Aragon (northeast of Spain), which received one of the explosive casings, manufactures military equipment sent to Ukraine by Spain in support of the Ukrainian armed forces. Russian attack on February 24.
Ukraine has been under military attack by Russia since February in an occupation condemned by the general international community.
Russia today condemned “any terrorist threat or act” following the sending of the explosives-laden letters in Spain.
“Any threat or act of terrorism, especially directed against a diplomatic mission, is absolutely reprehensible,” the embassy of the Russian Federation in Madrid said in a statement today.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, argued that the embassy was improving its security systems and that Russia should be declared a “terrorist state”.
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