​​How the terrorist attacks in Madrid affected support for Ukraine

After a series of letter bombs were discovered in Madrid last week, we reached out to Yury Chopyk, the Ukrainian Community Leader in Spain, for a comment on the situation, its media coverage, and the Russian side’s position.

“Practically all Spanish media not only wrote in all newspapers but also covered the course of events every hour on television,” says Yury Chopyk. – “Six packages with explosives arrived at various points, and the National Court is investigating these deliveries as a “crime of terrorism.”

The first letter exploded in the Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid on Wednesday, November 30, at noon, and one person was injured. The second package arrived the same day at Instalaza, an arms manufacturing company in Zaragoza. On Thursday morning, security agents intercepted another suspicious package sent to a satellite center in Torrejón de Ardos in Madrid. New mailings were reported throughout Thursday: one was sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The fifth package, intercepted at the Ministry of Defense, was addressed to Ms. Margarita Robles, Minister of Defense of Spain. The sixth letter with explosives was found at the US Embassy, also in Madrid.

According to Yuri Chopyk, the published investigation data indicate a relationship between the received mailings – all envelopes with bombs looked identical and were sent on the same day from the territory of Spain.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid was the first to report this attack. The ambassador’s secretary received the mailing addressed to the ambassador. A suspicious envelope without a return address was handed over to a security guard, who opened it outside the premises and received light burns on his hand.

In Zaragoza, the second package was addressed to Instalaza, a company specializing in weapons production. The company employs more than 150 people in three factories in the city, from where it exports its products to more than 35 countries, including weapons that were sent to Ukraine. The envelopes received at the Torrejon Air Base and the Department of Defense were discovered Thursday morning and did not create any damage.

The Russian Embassy in Spain reacted to the information about the explosive packages as follows: “Any threat or terrorist act, especially if it is directed against a diplomatic mission, is absolutely reprehensible,” said Russians through their official channels.

The version of the events by the well-known journalist Ignacio Cembrero is also popular in Spain, who agrees with the Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlasca and notes that “despite the “shocking” fact that so many packages arrived at the same time, their contents “are not very scary.” Those behind this terrorist attack could be someone from the right or left forces.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, said the attack was a targeted, large-scale campaign against Ukraine abroad.

On December 1, the Minister of Defense of Spain, Margarita Robles, together with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, visited Odesa. The Spanish minister said that neither sending letters with explosives nor any other violent activity would change Spain’s “firm and clear” commitment to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. She also noted that the police are investigating to find out who is behind the terrorist attack.

“The investigation is ongoing. What should be made abundantly clear is that none of these parcels or any other violent action will change the clear and firm commitment of Spain, NATO countries, and the European Union to support Ukraine because Ukraine is defending a just cause,” the Spanish minister said.