LONDON — The daughter of an Russian ex-spy who was poisoned after she was exposed to the nerve agent novichok is speaking out for the first time since being released from the hospital. Yulia Skripal was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital on Monday and taken to an undisclosed location.
The Metropolitan Police say they are continuing to support Skripal following her release. Police released a statement on Skripal’s behalf on Tuesday, six days after Skripal’s first public comments since the attack.
“I was treated there with obvious clinical expertise and with such kindness, that I have found I missed the staff immediately,” Skripal said. “I have left my father in their care, and he is still seriously ill too. I too am still suffering with the effects of the nerve agent used against us.”
Skripal says she finds her life to be “totally different” from how it was “just over a month ago.” She’s working to “come to terms” with what happened while recovering from the attack.
Sergei Skripal, Yulia’s father, was convicted in Russia of spying for the U.K. and had been living in Britain as part of a spy swap. The pair were found unconscious on a park bench on March 4. Investigators believe they were poisoned by novichok that was left on their front door.
Trained officers are helping Skripal understand what is happening as the investigation unfolds. She says she is in contact with family and friends, and is aware of contacts at the Russian Embassy if she wishes to speak with them.
“Most importantly, I am safe and feeling better as time goes by, but I am not yet strong enough to give a full interview to the media, as I one day hope to do,” Skripal said. “Until that time, I want to stress that no one speaks for me, or for my father, but ourselves.”
In an appearance on Russian TV and in a number of interviews since the attack, Viktoria Skripal — Yulia’s cousin — said her ailing relatives planned to seek political asylum and raised doubts about the British government’s account of the poisoning. A purported phone call from Yulia to Viktoria was also broadcast on Russian state TV.
Sergei Skripal has been a patient at the Salisbury hospital since the attack.
Britain alleges they were poisoned with a Soviet-developed nerve agent, and blames Russia. Russia denies involvement in the pair’s poisoning, which triggered a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and the West.
Russia has accused Britain of refusing to share information about the case and has demanded consular access to Yulia Skripal, who is a Russian citizen. Her father was given British citizenship after coming to the U.K. in 2010 as part of a spy swap.
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