The World Briefly

January 26, 2023

Dragnet

Spain

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Russia’s military intelligence agency is suspected of directing a Russia-based white supremacist group to carry out the letter bombing campaign in Spain last year, the Moscow Times reported.

In late November and early December, six letter bombs were addressed to prominent government, military and diplomatic targets in Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as well as the American and Ukrainian embassies.

The attempt prompted Spanish authorities to increase security and reaffirm their support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian troops who had invaded the country.

So far, Spanish police have detained a 74-year-old man alleged to have made and sent the letter bombs, Reuters added.

US officials told the New York Times that Russia’s GRU agency used the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), a radical group with members and associates across Europe, as a proxy for the campaign.

The US and Canada have branded the RIM as a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, many details of the campaign remain murky, like how exactly it was directed and carried out, for example. Questions also remain as to how much knowledge the Russian government or President Vladimir Putin had of the campaign, according to CNN.

Despite the fact that the RIM has denounced the Kremlin’s military effort in Ukraine and accused Putin of corruption, the Times noted that the GRU has been able to influence the group’s operations because it holds similar anti-Western sentiments.

While Moscow is not considered to be ready to carry out extensive covert attacks or sabotage in Europe, US officials warned that if Russia continues to suffer big defeats in Ukraine, this might change.

This story originally appeared in the January 26, 2023 newsletter, The Morning After.