WE ARE SO LUCKY TO BE ALIVE
Daughter of Russian spy describes poison horror
SALISBURY poisoning victim Yulia Skripal yesterday said her life has been “turned upside down” by the attempted assassination that left her fighting for her life.
In her first public statement since the attack, the 33-year-old spoke of her suffering in the weeks since she and her father Sergei were exposed to a Russian nerve agent.
From a secret London location the spy’s daughter said she was “shocked” when she awoke from a coma 20 days after the attack.
She said: “We are so lucky to have both survived. Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful.
“The fact that a nerve agent was used to do this is shocking.
“I don’t want to describe the details, but the treatment was invasive, painful and depressing.”
Ms Skripal and her father, a 66-year-old ex-KGB agent, were found slumped over a bench in Salisbury on March 4. They are thought to have been exposed to Novichok, which was developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s.
Police said the nerve agent was smeared on the front door handle of Mr Skripal’s Salisbury home.
Ms Skripal spent five weeks in hospital recovering. Her father was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital just last week.
It is believed Russian special services attempted to assassinate Mr Skripal in retaliation for his years as a double agent for British intelligence services. The British Government said it is “highly likely” the Kremlin was behind the attack, a claim Russia has repeatedly denied.
President Vladimir Putin last week claimed the Skripals would be dead if they had been attacked with a weapons grade agent. Despite the possibility Russia was involved, Ms Skripal said she is keen to return home some time in the future. She said: “My life has been turned upside down as I come to terms with the devastating changes thrust upon me physically and emotionally.
“I take one day at a time and want to help care for my dad till his full recovery. In the longer term I hope to return home to my country.”
She said she does not currently want the help of the Russian Embassy, which has repeatedly requested a private audience.
Wearing a light blue summer dress Ms Skripal talked about her time in hospital. She said: “I am grateful to all of the wonderful staff at Salisbury hospital, a place I have become all too familiar with. I also think fondly of those who helped us on the street on the day of the attack.”
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he thought Ms Skripal was speaking under duress.
And a Russian Embassy spokesman said: “The text was a translation from English and initially written by a native English-speaker.
“The UK is obliged to give us the opportunity to speak to Yulia directly to make sure she is not being held against her own will and is not speaking under pressure.”