Ukraine says “animal eyes” were sent to their embassies

A number of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in the European Union have received packages containing animal eyes in what Kyiv on Friday called a “well-planned terror campaign”.

The announcement by Ukraine’s foreign ministry came after a security guard at the embassy in Madrid was slightly injured on Wednesday when he opened a letter bomb addressed to the ambassador in the mail, prompting Kyiv to increase security at its missions.

The war-torn country’s embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Austria, as well as the consulates general in Naples and Kraków and the consulate in Brno received the “bloody” packages, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said.

The packages were soaked in a liquid, he said in a statement, apparently referring to blood.

“We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation against Ukrainian embassies and consulates is underway,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in the statement.

The Ukrainian authorities would not be intimidated, he added.

“We will continue to work effectively for Ukraine’s victory,” said Kuleba.

The state called on foreign governments to “guarantee” the protection of Ukraine’s diplomatic missions abroad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched troops to Ukraine on February 24 in a bid to spark the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Russian forces have suffered humiliating military defeats on the ground in Ukraine in recent weeks.

© Agence France-Presse