Day 281 Roundup: Five More Letter Bombs Reported in Spain; Nine Killed in Fires Across Ukraine

    Photo: Reuters [via Reuters]

    The Facts

    • On Thursday, five other sites across Spain — including the US embassy in Madrid — were reported to have been targeted by letter bombs. Though some have speculated they may be linked to Russia, Spain's Deputy Interior Minister said on Thursday that the packages likely originated from within the country, in apparent contradiction to earlier statements. Russia has condemned the attacks, and an investigation is ongoing.

    • A day earlier, a letter bomb detonated at Ukraine's embassy in Madrid, leaving a Ukrainian official with minor injuries. A second was discovered at a weapons manufacturer in Zaragoza — a firm that has reportedly made weapons that the Spanish government has delivered to Ukraine.


    The Spin

    Pro-establishment narrative

    Russia's deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure — unnecessarily increasing the suffering of civilians — amounts to war crimes. This continuing Russian barbarity must be confronted.

    Pro-Russia narrative

    Attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are a direct consequence of the failure of the country's leadership to meaningfully engage in peace talks and thinking they can defeat Russia on the battlefield. These attacks will stop once a more sober position is reached.

    Nerd narrative

    There is a 1% chance that NATO will declare a No-Fly Zone anywhere in Ukraine before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


    Establishment split

    CRITICAL

    PRO

    More neutral establishment stance articles

    Sign up to our daily newsletter