British authorities claim to have identified suspects in the poisoning case of an ex-Russian intelligence officer and his daughter. The suspects are reportedly in Russia.
Sixty-six-year-old former Russian spy Sergey Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were found slumped, unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, a cathedral city in Wilshire, England, about ninety miles southwest of London on March 4.
Skripal is a former Russian military intelligence officer who was convicted in Russia of spying for the British in 2006. He was released in 2010 as part of a negotiated spy swap between the nations and had been living in Salisbury ever since. His daughter Yulia flew to England the day before the two were found.
The victims were said to be suffering from “exposure to a nerve agent.” The agent authorities believe was used in the attack is Novichok, a military grade substance developed in the Soviet Union during the 1970s. It is believed the nerve agent was smeared on the door handle of the Skripal home in Salisbury.
Yulia was released from the hospital on April 10. A third victim, British Detective Nick Bailey who fell ill after visiting the Skripal home at the outset of the investigation, has also since been released. Sergey is said to be recovering more slowly than Yulia although his overall prognosis has improved. Doctors say he will be discharged “in due course.”
The U.K. government accuses Russia of perpetrating the attack. The Kremlin has denied any involvement and calls the England’s accusations a “provocation.”
“Persons of interest” as English authorities call them have been identified by counter-terrorism agencies. It’s as of yet unclear who these suspects are but there are reports that flight-passenger lists have offered clues to U.K. authorities.
The incident has caused relations between Russia and Great Britain to reach their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. Last month England expelled twenty-three Russian diplomats and froze Russian assets in the country. Russia responded in-kind by expelling twenty-three British diplomats and closing the British Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Photo: Yulia Skripal via Facebook