Yulia Skripal breaks silence following Salisbury attack

THE daughter of a Russian spy poisoned with a nerve agent in broad daylight has woken up and spoken about her ordeal.

Yulia Skripal.

THE daughter of a former spy poisoned with Novichok nerve agent in the English town of Salisbury has broken her silence amid her recovery from the attack.

Yulia Skripal, 33, woke up after being poisoned with the military grade nerve agent over a week ago and said her “strength is growing daily” following the brazen attack.

“I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received,” she said in a statement.

MORE: British security traces Russian lab source

“I have many people to thank for my recovery and would especially like to mention the people of Salisbury that came to my aid when my father and I were incapacitated. Further than that, I would like to thank the staff at Salisbury District Hospital for their care and professionalism.

“I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence.”

Yulia Skripal is recovering from being poisoned with a military grade nerve agent. Picture: AFP PHOTO / FACEBOOK PAGE OF YULIA SKRIPAL.

The diplomatic crisis sparked the largest ever expulsion of Russian diplomats. Picture: AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN

The March 4 attack saw Yulia Skripal and her father, former double agent Sergei Skripal, found slumped on a park bench outside a pizza restaurant in the middle of an ordinary town famed for its local cathedral. Police officer Nick Bailey was also hospitalised after trying to revive the pair but has since recovered, saying he did not consider himself a “hero”.

“He states he was merely doing his job - a job he loves and is immensely proud of - just like all of his other dedicated colleagues do, day in-day out, in order to protect the public and keep people safe,” he said upon his release from hospital.

Mr Skripal remains in a critical condition.

The use of a military-grade substance shocked the UK government and sparked a diplomatic crisis that has been likened to a new “Cold War.” The UK government laid the blame for the poisoning squarely at Russian feet, in a move that led to the largest mass exclusion of diplomats around the world with many European countries, the US and Australia expelling staff in a show of solidarity.

MORE: Russia wants to visit Yulia Skripral in hospital

Russia has vehemently denied any responsibility, claiming that the UK could not prove the source of the nerve agent — even raising the possibility if could have come from a UK defence facility at Porton Down, nearby.

Authorities at Porton Down have denied that is the case. However this week, head of the laboratory, Gary Aitkenhead, said it was unable to verify the nerve agent came from Russia.

The comments contradicted previous claims made by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and were seized on by Russia as an example of what they claim is a Western agenda against the country.

The UK government was further embarrassed when the Foreign Office was forced to delete a tweet claiming Russia was the source, saying it had been “inaccurate”, leading to ridicule from the Russian Embassy in the UK.

“And this time we are so sure that we won’t even promise to produce any proof!” pic.twitter.com/g8HpfCMpdV

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 5, 2018

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned one month ago. Russia has been waiting for answers and compliance from the British side all this time. UK only issued 24-hour ultimatums. pic.twitter.com/CsqMMiHByu

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 4, 2018

🇬🇧UK is trying to convince the whole world of Russia’s culpability in the so-called Skripal case. There is no evidence. Yet Russia is being accused of disinformation & refusing to cooperate. The media has offered at least 6 versions of the incident. @ukinrussia @RussianEmbassy pic.twitter.com/jBVpYBUOVW

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) April 4, 2018

The incident shut down the city while workers traced the source of the substance. Picture: AFP PHOTO / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS

Sergei and Yulia Skripal at a restaurant believed to be Zizzi's.

On Thursday, an Executive Council at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague defeated Russia’s demands for a joint investigation by 6 votes to 41.

Russia will take the issue to an emergency session of the UN Security Council in a move UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said is “ludicrous” and designed to undermine the work of the chemical weapons watchdog.

“The international community has yet again seen through these tactics and robustly defeated Russia’s attempts today to derail the proper international process,” he said following the decision.

“It shows that many countries around the world continue to share our assessment of what happened in Salisbury and are determined to stand up to Russia’s behaviour.

“It seems Russia will never accept the legitimacy of any investigation into chemical weapons use unless it comes up with an answer Russia likes.”