Ex-spy’s daughter says getting better

LONDON/MOSCOW: Yulia Skripal made her first public comments on Thursday since being poisoned in Britain last month with her ex-russian agent father, saying she was getting stronger by the day but shedding no new light on the incident.

Yulia and Sergei Skripal, 66, were found slumped unconscious on a public bench in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4. Britain said they were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, the first known use of such a toxin on European soil since World War Two.

London has blamed Russia for the attempted murder while Moscow denies any involvement. The fallout has had major diplomatic ramifications with mass expulsions of Russian and Western diplomats.

The attack left the Skripals in a critical condition and doctors had initially feared that even if they did survive, they might have suffered permanent brain damage.

However, while her father remains critical but stable in intensive care, Yulia’s health has improved rapidly in the last few weeks and on Thursday she issued a statement through British police to thank hospital staff and the people who came to her help when “when my father and I were incapacitated”.

Britain’s Foreign Office said she had been offered assistance from Russia’s embassy but had so far declined its help.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian state TV and Interfax reported that Yulia had phoned her cousin Viktoria Skripal in Russia, saying she and her father were both recovering and that she expected to leave hospital soon.

“Everything is fine, everything is fixable, everyone is getting better, everyone is alive,” they quoted her as saying.

When asked about her father’s health, Yulia was cited by them as saying: “Everything is fine, he is resting right now...everyone’s health is fine, nobody has any problems that can’t be put right. I will soon be discharging myself (from hospital).”