The Russians decided to check their agents and immediately warn the West, experts say.
The campaign of sending letters with bombs in Europe at the end of 2022 was carried out by representatives of the far-right group on the instructions of the Russian special services. The New York Times writes about it.
Thus, Spanish investigators conducted an investigation into six episodes when letter bombs were delivered to the Embassy of Ukraine, the official residence of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the US Embassy and other places. No one was killed then, but an employee of the Ukrainian embassy received minor injuries.
“U.S. and European officials believe that Russian military intelligence officers ordered a militant group that was actually based in Russia to carry out this campaign, the prime targets of which were the prime minister, the defense minister and foreign diplomats and other officials,” he writes. edition.
The Russian Imperial Movement, which has a militant training center in St. Petersburg and a network of agents and supporters in Europe, is said to be under investigation.
The US government has recognized this group as a global terrorist organization and believes that it is connected to Russian special services. It is noted that representatives of the group were coming to Spain, where the local police recorded their contacts with local far-right organizations.
European and American officials interviewed by the journalists claim that with this action, the Kremlin probably showed the West that the Russian Federation can carry out terrorist attacks in European countries that help Ukraine.
Alternatively, it could be the Russians checking their proxy groups in case the Kremlin decides to use them to stage an escalation.
“This looks like a precautionary shot. This is Russia sending a signal that it is ready to use terrorists to attack the rear areas of the West,” said former US State Department counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales.
Letters with threats in embassies of Ukraine
On November 30, the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain received a suspicious letter. When trying to open the envelope, a small explosion occurred, as a result of which the employee of the embassy suffered minor injuries.
A little later it became known that such letters with a bomb were sent to several addresses in Spain.
However, it did not end there. Over the next few days, Ukrainian embassies in other European countries began receiving bloodstained envelopes with animal eyes inside.
