By Prarthana Mitra
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were both victims of a deadly nerve agent attack last month in England, are no longer in a critical condition, according to Dr. Christine Blanshard at the Salisbury District Hospital.
A month after the father-daughter duo were found collapsed on a bench outside the Salisbury shopping area, Sergei and Yulia Skripals conditions have reportedly shown marked signs of improvement for the first time. Yulia Skripal regained consciousness last week and in her first public statement, asked the media to respect their privacy, thanking all those who sent messages of goodwill and were involved in her recovery to a stable condition.
After weeks of no reported change, Skripals improvements mark the latest twist in a month-long diplomatic war. However, according to the NHS, there are still uncertainties about Skripals’s long term recovery, as nerve agent attacks are seldom easy to recover from. BBC reports that Skripal’s memory and brain functions may also be impacted due to the attack.
Skripal may be the one to remove all doubt about Russias culpability
The nerve agent used to poison the Skripals was later identified as a Soviet -era substance called Novichok. This discovery led the incident spiralling into a massive fallout between Russia and other nations. The UK and the US backed, by other Western allies condemned Russia for orchestrating the attack on English soil. The allegations were dismissed by Moscow as horrific and unsubstantiated. The Kremlin claims that the allegations against it are fabrications that aimed at inciting large-scale political provocation.
Over the past month, at least 28 countries followed in US footsteps and expelled scores of Russian diplomats from foreign soil, in the harshest crackdown on Moscow since the Cold War.
Although the British government claimed that they are absolutely sure about Russias involvement in the nerve agent attack, Skripals recovery may provide the final piece of evidence needed to drive the issue home. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took to Twitter to welcomed the news of Skripal’s improved condition and wished both patients a “quick return to full health.
According to BBC, Skripal’s recovery means that there are now two individuals at the heart of this incident who can likely provide insight into the incident The US and its allied nations from the European Union are thus banking heavily on Skripals recovery, with the hope that he will provide vital clues regarding the poison attack. Only time will tell if his testimony will drive the final nail in the coffin for London and Kremlin’s diplomatic relations.
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