“Bloody packages” containing animal eyes sent to Ukrainian diplomatic missions all came from Germany, Ukraine’s foreign minister has revealed.
There have been 31 “suspicious or threatening” items sent to embassies in 15 countries, including Italy, Austria, Kazakhstan and the United States, reported the BBC.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba initially pointed the finger of blame at Moscow. Asked by CNN last week who he thought was responsible, Kuleba replied that he felt “tempted” to “name Russia” because “first of all you have to answer the question, who benefits?”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, German news website DW has reported that Kyiv now believes the “grizzly” packages were sent from Germany. Kuleba said the sender address for each of the envelopes was a Tesla car dealership in Sindelfingen in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
“Usually, the shipment was made from post offices that were not equipped with video surveillance systems,” Kuleba said. “Criminals took measures not to leave traces of their DNA on the packages”, which “indicates the professional level of implementation”.
He added that the campaign is “aimed at sowing fear and terrorising Ukrainian diplomats” but the precise message of the packages remains unclear. “We are studying the meaning of this message,” said Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko.
The flurry of packages comes after other intimidating incidents. A security guard at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was injured while opening a parcel addressed to the ambassador, noted ABC News, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican said that the entrance to his Rome residence was vandalised with animal faeces.
“I don’t remember any instance in history that so many embassies and consulates of one country have been subjected to such mass attacks in such a short period of time,” said Kuleba.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
What will security guarantees for Ukraine look like?Today's Big Question From boots on the ground to economic sanctions, here are the measures that might stop Russia taking another bite out of Ukraine
-
Russia tries Ukraine land grab before Trump summitSpeed Read The incursion may be part of Putin's efforts to boost his bargaining position
-
Volodymyr Zelenskyy: flirting with authoritarianism?Talking Point Ukraine's president is facing first major domestic unrest since the Russian invasion, over plans to water down the country's anti-corruption agencies
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Why are Ukraine's anti-corruption issues roaring back into focus now?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION A new bill curbing anti-corruption bodies prompted Ukraine's first mass protests against President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in years. Where are the roots of this domestic unrest, and what could it mean for Ukraine's future?
-
Trump threatens Russia with 'severe tariffs'speed read The president also agreed to sell NATO advanced arms for Ukraine
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to UkraineSpeed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveriesSpeed Read The halting of weapons shipments was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic
