A security officer at the Ukraine Embassy in Madrid was injured when he opened a letter bomb addressed to the Ambassador on Wednesday. Kyiv has ordered a bolstering of security at all its representative offices abroad.
The embassy employee suffered ‘light injuries’ and went himself to hospital for treatment, Spanish government official Mercedes Gonzalez told broadcaster Telemadrid.
The letter, which arrived by ordinary mail and was not scanned, caused ‘a very small wound on the ring finger of the right hand’ of the employee after he opened it in the garden of the embassy, Gonzalez said. It was addressed to Ambassador Serhii Pohoreltsev, she said.
The residential area surrounding the embassy in northwestern Madrid was cordoned off and a bomb disposal unit was deployed to the scene.
Police have opened an investigation ‘which includes the participation of forensic police’, according to reports.
Ukraine has said it will strengthen security at all its embassies.
‘Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has instructed us to strengthen the security of all Ukrainian embassies,’ Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on social media in English.
The minister also urged Spain to ‘take urgent measures to investigate the attack’, the spokesman added. The perpetrators, he added, ‘will not succeed in intimidating Ukrainian diplomats or stopping their daily work on strengthening Ukraine and countering Russian aggression’.
An explosive device hidden in an envelop detonated inside the embassy of Ukraine in Madrid. One staff member injured. FM @DmytroKuleba instructed to strengthen the security of all Ukrainian embassies. He also called on the Spanish authorities to urgently investigate this attack.
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) November 30, 2022
🔴 El destinatario de la carta que ha explotado en la embajada de Ucrania era el embajador.
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) November 30, 2022
El artefacto era casero y ha herido leve a un empleado, que ya ha sido dado de alta.
⭕ En DIRECTO en el #Canal24Horas
🔸 https://t.co/0Ix6dDasm5 pic.twitter.com/qqDpOp2bJF
ALSO READ: Ukrainian art on display at Madrid museum after defying Russian bombs.
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