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LONDON. – Yulia Skripal, hit in a nerve agent attack that has chilled relations between Russia and the West, came out of critical care yesterday following a swift improvement in her health.
The 33-year-old daughter of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal is “improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition. Her condition is now stable”, said the hospital treating the pair since the March 4 attack.
Sergei Skripal (66) remains in a critical but stable condition, Salisbury District Hospital’s board said.
The attack on the Skripals in the southwestern English city has been met with a major response that has seen more than 150 Russian diplomats expelled from countries around the world.
British authorities have blamed Moscow, which denies any involvement, and said a Soviet-designed nerve agent dubbed Novichok was used in the poisoning – the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II.
“I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal,” said Dr Christine Blanshard, the Salisbury hospital’s medical director.
“She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day.”
A court last week heard that, at that stage, she could not communicate in any meaningful way, while her father could not communicate at all.
British counter-terror police on Wednesday said the Skripals first came into contact with a nerve agent at his Salisbury home – with the highest concentration on the front door.
British police said around 250 counter-terrorism detectives are working on the case, which could continue for months.
Around 500 witnesses have been identified and police are looking through more than 5 000 hours of security camera footage.
“We believe the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent from their front door,” Dean Haydon, Britain’s counter-terror police chief, said on Wednes- day.
“Traces of the nerve agent have been found at some of the other scenes detectives have been working at over the past few weeks, but at lower concentrations to that found at the home address.”
Investigators had sealed off the bench where the Skripals were found, a pub and restaurant the pair visited, and the grave of the former spy’s wife.
The BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera said the highest concentration was found on Skripal’s door handle and could have been administered through a “gloopy substance which could have been smeared on”. – AFP.
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