Hospital discharges ex- spy’s daughter
RECOVERY OF SERGEI was more slower than Yulia, but the hospital hopes he will be able to leave in due course THE DUE are expected to suffer some long- term consequences of the toxic substance
London: Yulia Skripal, daughter of a former Russian spy who along with her father was poisoned with a nerve agent in the UK last month sparking a major diplomatic spat between Moscow and the Western world, has been discharged from hospital, officials said.
London, April 10: Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury along with her Russian ex- spy father, has been discharged from hospital, an official said Tuesday.
“This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone,” Salisbury hospital’s deputy chief executive Christine Blanshard said.
She added that while Sergei Skripal, a former double agent who moved to Britain in 2010, is “recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course”.
The pair were found collapsed on a bench in the south- western city of Salisbury on March 4 in what British authorities have said was attempted murder by the Russian state.
Western allies backed Britain but Moscow strongly denied any involvement, prompting a furious international row.
Countries around the world expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats in response, prompting Moscow to launch its own expulsions.
- Moved to secure location -
The Skripals were both in a coma after the attack and there were initially fears they would not recover, but last week officials said they were both improving.
In a short statement issued through police last week, 33- year- old Yulia Skripal said: “I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily.”
She said she had found the incident “disorientating”, without providing any further details on the attack.
The BBC reported that Yulia had been discharged on Monday and was moved to a secure location.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was “wonderful” and wished her a “full and speedy recovery”, adding that he also hoped her father would recuperate quickly.
The Russian embassy in London also congratulated Yulia Skripal on her recovery, but raised questions about her movements now.
“We need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will,” it tweeted.
Responded to reports that the pair may be resettled, it said: “Secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal, barred from any contact with their family will be seen as an abduc-