Three improvised explosive devices were thrown at the Russian consulate in the southern French port city of Marseille on Monday, February 24, but no one was injured, a police source said. Only two of the three devices detonated in the attack on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the source said. The consulate was sealed off by police.
Two of the three devices exploded, according to this source, while the perimeter surrounding the consulate, located in the southern port city's 8th arrondissement, was completely cordoned off by police, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Marseilles fire department told AFP they had dispatched "around thirty units" to the scene. AFP journalists at the scene later heard a detonation caused by a bomb disposal robot.
As of late Monday morning, this information had not yet been confirmed by the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture or the Marseille public prosecutor's office. The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately denounced what it called a "terrorist attack."
"The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the signs of a terrorist attack," foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Russian reporters. "We demand that the host country undertake exhaustive and speedy investigative measures, as well as steps to strengthen the security of Russia's foreign missions," said Zakharova.
The French Foreign Ministry "condemned any attack on the security of diplomatic compounds. The inviolability, protection and integrity of diplomatic and consular premises, as well as their personnel, are fundamental principles of international law."
On February 24, 2022, Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded pro-Western Ukraine, setting off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.