Spain: several letter bombs intercepted, addressed in particular to the Prime Minister and the Ambassador of Ukraine

The security officer at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was slightly injured when a letter bomb intended for the ambassador exploded on Wednesday. The other couriers were defused before doing any damage.

Demining services intervene after the discovery of a letter bomb addressed to the military base of Torrejon de Ardoz, in Spain, on December 1, 2022. (AFP)

The Spanish authorities announced on Thursday 1 December that a letter bomb had been sent the previous week to the Prime Minister. The Ministry of the Interior specified that an “envelope containing pyrotechnic material” and addressed “to the President of the Government Pedro Sanchez” had been “detected and neutralized by the security services of the Presidency of the Government”, on “November 24 “.

This letter, sent by post, “and its contents are similar to those received on Wednesday [November 30] by the Ukrainian embassy and by the headquarters of the Instalaza company in Zaragoza, and to a fourth intercepted Thursday night at Torrejon de Ardoz air base,” the ministry added. “Pending final analysis results, this envelope may have contained a substance similar to that used in pyrotechnic devices,” he said in a statement.

One wounded at the Ukrainian Embassy

On Wednesday, the security officer of the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was slightly injured by the explosion of a letter bomb intended for the ambassador. This attack prompted kyiv to order a reinforcement of security in all its diplomatic representations. The Interior Ministry said it had ordered “an increase in security measures around diplomatic representations” in Spain.

Since the explosion of this letter at the Ukrainian Embassy, four other “suspicious” letters have been intercepted and neutralized. A first arrived Wednesday at the end of the day at the headquarters of the arms company Instalaza, in Zaragoza. This company manufactures in particular the grenade launchers which were sent to Ukraine by the Spanish government, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion.

A second courier was intercepted on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, in the air base of Torrejon de Ardoz. This base is used in particular for travel by official planes of members of the Spanish government. Two other letters were addressed to the Spanish Minister of Defense and to the United States Embassy in Madrid. Spanish justice announced on Wednesday the opening of a preliminary investigation into alleged acts of “terrorism”, after the explosion at the Ukrainian embassy. This investigation was extended to all letter bombs.

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