Daughter of Russian ex-spy leaves hospital

LONDON – The daughter of a Russian ex-spy who was poisoned with nerve agent along with her father has been released from a hospital, British media reported Tuesday.

Yulia Skripal, 33, and her father, Sergei, were found on a bench in Salisbury, southern England, on March 4.

“Yulia has now been discharged from Salisbury District Hospital. This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone,” Christine Blanshard, the hospital’s medical director, said in a statement Tuesday.

Yulia Skripal was taken to a secure location, the BBC reported. Sergei Skripal, 66, remains in a hospital. Blanshard said last week he was “responding well to treatment” and “improving rapidly.”

“Both patients have responded exceptionally well to the treatment we’ve been providing. But equally, both patients are at different stages in their recovery,” Blanshard said Tuesday. “Although he (Sergei) is recovering more slowly, we hope that he, too, will be able to leave hospital in due course.”

The United Kingdom has blamed Russia for the Skripals’ poisoning with Novichok nerve agent. The Kremlin denies any responsibility.

The Russian Embassy in London tweeted Tuesday: “We congratulate Yulia Skripal on her recovery. Yet we need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will.”

In a statement posted to the Russian Embassy in the U.K.’s website Tuesday, an embassy spokesperson said “the United Kingdom has been doing everything to prevent us from gaining access to the criminal file. Despite the fact that a criminal case regarding the poisoning of Yulia Skripal has been opened in Russia, our law enforcement agencies are unable to get necessary evidence as their British counterparts refuse to cooperate,” the spokesperson said.

Dozens of countries including Britain and the United States have expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats because of the incident, and Russia has retaliated by expelling foreign envoys.