By TRISHA THOMAS (Associated Press)
ROME (AP) — Ukrainian embassies and consulates in six European international locations have acquired packages containing animals’ eyes in latest days, a Ukrainian official stated Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko wrote on Facebook that the “bloody parcels” have been acquired by the Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, in addition to by consulates in Naples, Italy; Krakow, Poland and the Czech metropolis of Brno. He stated that “we are studying the meaning of this message.”
“It’s a very strong signal,” the Ukrainian consul in Naples, Maksym Kovalenko, stated, confirming his workplace acquired two letters containing fish eyes at round 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Nikolenko stated the parcels arrived after a bundle containing an explosive gadget despatched to the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid ignited upon opening on Wednesday and injured an worker. That was considered one of a number of explosive parcels present in Spain this week.
Spain´s Interior Ministry stated police evacuated the Madrid embassy on Friday after one other suspect bundle was detected. The ministry stated the parcel was posted from exterior Spain and may be a part of the chain of mail despatched to different embassies in Europe. Police have been investigating the contents and didn’t discover any explosives, the ministry stated.
Elsewhere, the doorway to the residence of the Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican was vandalized and the Ukrainian Embassy in Kazakhstan was warned of an assault with explosives, although that wasn’t confirmed, Nikolenko stated.
In Poland, a spokesman for the police in Warsaw confirmed by e-mail {that a} bundle arrived on the Ukrainian Consulate within the Polish capital on Thursday that “raised concern” from one of many staff. The police division for safeguarding diplomatic missions was notified and “we quickly eliminated the danger” spokesman Sylwester Marczak stated. He offered no additional particulars. Marczak stated he was not conscious of any such parcel arriving on the Ukrainian Embassy in Warsaw.
Police in Krakow, in southern Poland, didn’t affirm an incident on the consulate there however stated a suspicious bundle was recognized at a submit workplace Thursday. Police stated the contents have been being examined however wouldn’t say to whom the bundle was addressed.
In the Czech Republic, police stated an X-ray scan discovered no explosives in a checked bundle, however they added later that animal tissue was discovered inside that has been submitted to laboratory checks.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, stated the doorway to his Rome residence was vandalized Thursday afternoon with what he believed to be animal feces. The door to the residence and the steps and partitions within the entryway have been “smeared with a dirty substance with an unpleasant smell,” he advised The Associated Press. He stated his spouse and son weren’t dwelling on the time, and police have been referred to as.
“And also the diplomatic mission in Italy received some letters also with some very unpleasant stuff inside, I mean some animal eyes. I don’t know exactly but it looks like eyes from fish or some other animals,” Yurash stated. “So it is hard to explain completely why, and what is the reason of this terrible message, but it is no doubt a systematic trend, a systematic attack on Ukrainian missions around Europe.”
In Croatia, police stated the Ukrainian Embassy in Zagreb referred to as to report {that a} suspicious bundle meant for the embassy arrived on the submit workplace, however diplomatic personnel didn’t accumulate it following the warning from the Foreign Ministry.
Croatian police took custody of the bundle and are investigating the place it was despatched from and what it contained. No different particulars have been revealed.
All Ukrainian embassies and consulates have stepped up safety measures. Nikolenko quoted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying that “we have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation of Ukrainian embassies and consulates is taking place.”
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Elise Morton in London, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, Karel Janicek in Prague, and Ciaran Giles in Madrid contributed reporting.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”