Yulia: ‘I now have a totally different life’
Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned alongside her father in Salisbury last month, said she has found herself in a “totally different life” as she continues to recover from the nerve agent attack.
YULIA SKRIPAL has told British authorities she does not wish to speak to Russian officials as she continues to recover from a nerve agent attack.
A diplomatic battle has been raging between the two nations over whether the Russian embassy should be allowed access to the 33-year-old daughter of ex-spy Sergei Skripal.
Ms Skripal, found critically ill alongside her 66-year-old father on a bench last month, was discharged from a hospital in Salisbury, Wiltshire, this week.
It is believed that British authorities immediately spirited her away to a secure location.
The embassy reacted angrily to the news, suggesting in a series of tweets that the Russian national had been taken against her will.
However, it is understood that the offer of consular support from Russia was presented to Ms Skripal – and rejected. Last night Ms Skripal said: “I find myself in a totally different life than the ordinary one I left just over a month ago, and I am seeking to come to terms with my prospects, whilst also recovering from this attack on me.”
Russia remains the prime suspect for carrying out the attack on Mr Skripal and his daughter.
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We have previously passed on the Russian embassy’s offer of consular support to Yulia. She is free to decide on whether she wishes to pursue that. To date, we understand she has not done so.”
The Russian embassy remains perturbed by a refusal from UK authorities to grant Ms Skripal’s cousin Viktoria a visa to visit her family.
It escalated the war of words on Tuesday, saying in a series of statements posted on social media: “Secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal, barred from any contact with their family will be seen as an abduction or at least as their forced isolation.”
Ms Skripal’s release from hospital was met with a similar broadside from the embassy, which has repeatedly criticised the handling of the investigation into the attack.
In a statement, a spokesman said: “We congratulate Yulia on her recovery. Yet we need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will.”
Continuing the onslaught of scepticism yesterday, it suggested reports Ms Skripal had turned down consular assistance actually revealed she is being “held hostage by the same people who destroy evidence and fail to come up with a single official account of the crime”.
Her release from hospital was announced by Salisbury District Hospital medical director Dr Christine Blanshard on Tuesday.
It is hoped Mr Skripal will soon be fit for release from hospital, despite fears the exposure to military-grade nerve agent Novichok on March 4 would prove fatal.
She said: “Both patients have responded exceptionally well to the treatment we’ve been providing. But, equally, both patients are at different stages in their recovery. This is not the end of Yulia’s treatment but marks a significant milestone.”
She added although he is recovering more slowly, it is hoped he too will leave hospital soon. The former double agent was jailed in Russia for selling secrets to MI6 but was released in 2010 and settled in the UK. Britain has said Russian state involvement is the only plausible explanation for the attack.
We have passed on the embassy’s offer of support to Yulia. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.