Man sentenced to 18 years for sending explosives to Ukrainian embassy in Spain

This is reported by Reuters. 

Gonzalez Pascual, a retired civil servant from Miranda del Ebro, was arrested in January 2023. He had sent six explosive-laden parcels to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defence Minister Margarita Robles, the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies in Madrid, an air force base, and a weapons manufacturer.

Although most bombs were defused, one exploded at the Ukrainian embassy, injuring security staffer Mykola Velychko. The court found Gonzalez Pascual guilty of terrorism and manufacturing explosive devices. He was sentenced to 10 years for terrorism and 8 years for the explosives, along with a €1,500 ($1,628) fine for Velychko’s injuries.

Pascual followed Russian media and used VK ( (VKontakte, Russian social media platform similar to Facebook -ed.). He tried to put pressure on government agencies to stop Spain's assistance to Ukraine. It now appears that he likely acted independently and on his own initiative.

The court described his actions as an attempt to create significant disruption to pressure Spain and the U.S. to halt support for Ukraine amid Russian invasion. Gonzalez Pascual’s bail was previously granted in April 2023 due to his age and clean record.

The Spanish government has maintained strong support for Ukraine, supplying military aid.