Ukraine says ‘animal eyes’ sent to its embassies

KYIV, Ukraine: A number of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in the European Union have received packages containing animal eyes in what Kyiv described Friday as a “well-planned campaign of terror”.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry announcement came after a security guard at the embassy in Madrid was lightly injured on Wednesday opening a letter bomb addressed to the ambassador through the mail, prompting Kyiv to boost security at its missions.

The war-torn country´s embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Austria as well as general consulates in Naples and Krakow and the consulate in Brno received the “bloody” packages, foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.

The parcels were soaked in a liquid, he said in a statement, apparently referring to blood. “We have grounds to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation of Ukrainian embassies and consulates is under way,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in the statement.

Ukrainian authorities would not be intimidated, he added. “We will continue to work effectively for the victory of Ukraine,” Kuleba said. The state called on foreign governments to “guarantee” the protection of Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 unleashing what has become the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. Russian forces have in recent weeks suffered humiliating military defeats on the ground in Ukraine.