Ukraine steps up security at embassies after letter bombs found in Spain

Bomb disposal experts defused a letter bomb at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid on Thursday, the sixth such device sent to high-profile targets in a wave that prompted Spain to step up security and vow not to be deterred from supporting Ukraine.

The campaign began with a package sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Nov. 24, spurring Madrid to tighten security around public buildings. Since Wednesday, similar devices were also sent to the defence ministry, an air force base, a weapons manufacturer and the Ukrainian embassy where a security officer was slightly injured.

Defence Minister Margarita Robles, who was visiting the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Thursday and met her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov, said the letter bombs would not deter Spain from supporting Ukraine's "just cause."

"What must be very clear is that none of these deliveries or any other violent action will change the clear and firm commitment of Spain, NATO countries and the European Union to support Ukraine," she said.

The latest package was intercepted at the U.S. Embassy by security officials and was later detonated in a controlled explosion by Spanish police.

On Wednesday, a package addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador to Spain detonated at the country's embassy as a security official investigated it, causing minor injuries to his hands and a concussion. Security has now been stepped up around embassies as well.

Later the same day, the headquarters of Spanish weapons manufacturer Instalaza in Zaragoza, in northeastern Spain, received one of the suspicious packages, police said. Instalaza manufactures the C90 rocket launcher that Spain has supplied to Ukraine.

A fifth device was received at Spain's Defence Ministry on Thursday morning and defused by specialist police officers, a defence ministry spokesperson told Reuters.

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles earlier this month said the countrywould send six HAWK air defence systems to Ukraine to help it repel Russia's invasion and protect its battered infrastructure. Spain has also taken in tens of thousands of Ukrainians who've fled their country.

Russian embassy reacts

Ukraine's ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, appeared to blame Russia.

"We have instructions from the ministry in Ukraine that given the situation we have to be prepared for any kind of incident... Russian activities outside the country," he told Spanish television station TVE on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in Spain posted a statement condemning "any threat or terrorist act" in relation to the five letter bombs, "particularly directed at a diplomatic mission."

A source close to the investigation told Reuters that the devices sent to the prime minister's office, the Ukrainian Embassy, the air base and the arms manufacturer were in similar brown envelopes and addressed to the heads of each institution.

They contained loose gunpowder with an electrical ignition mechanism that would make the powder burn, rather than explode, the source said.

Spain's Correos postal service has been asked to collaborate in a pre-screening of all similar envelopes, the source said.

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Spain's High Court that specializes in terrorism has opened an investigation, a judicial source said.

The device sent to the Ukrainian Embassy was received around lunchtime on Wednesday and exploded when it was opened by a security official.

Ambassador Serhii Pohoreltsev told the Ukrainian news site European Pravda that the suspicious package addressed to him was handed to the embassy's Ukrainian commandant, who took it outside to open.

"After opening the box and hearing a click that followed, he tossed it and then heard the explosion. Despite not holding the box at the time of the explosion, the commandant hurt his hands and received a concussion," Pohoreltsev was quoted as saying.

Spanish security forces also found a suspected explosive device early on Thursday hidden in an envelope mailed to a European Union satellite centre located at an air force base in Torrejon de Ardoz, outside Madrid, the Defence Ministry said.

After scanning the envelope by X-ray, air force security officers determined it contained "a mechanism," the ministry statement said.

The satellite centre supports the EU's common foreign and security policy by gathering information from space intelligence devices, according to its website. EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell described such systems as "the eyes of Europe" in September.