- Published: 03.12.2022.
Foreign ministry strongly condemns suspicious mail sent to Ukrainian embassy
A spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleg Nikolenko, announced on Facebook on Friday that packages "with animal eyes" and "impregnated with a liquid of characteristic color" were sent to the embassies in Croatia, Italy, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands and Austria, as well as the consulates in Naples, Krakow and Brno.
"We strongly condemn today's act of sending a suspicious letter addressed to the Ukrainian Embassy," the Ministry told Hina.
The Croatian Ministry added that in a conversation with the Ukrainian ambassador, Grlić Radman "expressed solidarity and confirmed the assistance of all institutions participating in the investigation of this act of intimidation."
The Ukrainian Embassy in Zagreb did not confirm the news or provide details when asked by Hina, adding that it would publish a statement on its website later.
The incident occurred after six letter bombs were sent to different addresses in Spain, including the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid, the US Embassy and the Office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
"We are studying the meaning of this message," Nikolenko wrote on Facebook, adding that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had ordered all the embassies to step up security.
Nikolenko also said that the residence of the Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican had been vandalised. An Embassy source in Rome said human faeces were left in front of the door.
The Embassy in Kazakhstan had received a bomb threat, but subsequently that wasn't confirmed, Nikolenko said.
The Embassy in the United States received a letter containing an article that was critical of Ukraine, Nikolenko said. The letter, like most of the others, originated from one European country, he said, without giving details.
Croatian police informed by Ukrainian Embassy of suspicious parcel
The Croatian Ministry of the Interior confirmed to Hina on Friday it had been informed by the Ukrainian Embassy that it had refused to take delivery of a suspicious parcel from a postal worker.
Embassy staff refused to take delivery of the parcel following a warning from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that several Ukrainian embassies across Europe had received suspicious parcels from the same sender, the Croatian ministry said.
The Croatian police immediately took the necessary steps in coordination with security services and in consultation with the Ukrainian Embassy, it added.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the parcel is in possession of the police and that the investigation is continuing to determine the origin and contents of the parcel.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Zagreb is one of the several Ukrainian diplomatic missions to have received "blood packages" containing animal eyes, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
Text: Hina/MFEA