Poisoned daughter of ex-Russian spy: ‘I hope to return home to my country’

Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned along with her father, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, said in a new interview that she hopes to return to her country.

“As I try to come to terms with the devastating changes thrust upon me both physically and emotionally, I take one day at a time and want to help care for my Dad till his full recovery,” Yulia Skripal told Reuters. 

“In the longer term, I hope to return home to my country,” she added. 

Skripal is currently in a secret location in London being protected by the British state, according to Reuters.

The Skripals were poisoned in Britain in March and were in critical condition for weeks. Yulia Skripal, who was in a coma for 20 days, regained consciousness before her father.

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Britain and a host of other nations have blamed Russia for the attack. Sergei Skripal was a former Russian military intelligence officer who betrayed Russian agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service. 

The poisoning led the U.S. and European allies to carry out the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats since the Cold War. Russia has denied being involved in the poisoning and responded by expelling Western diplomats.

The Russia’s ambassador to the U.K., Alexander Yakovenko, has demanded to see Yulia Skripal several times, Reuters noted.

“I’m grateful for the offers of assistance from the Russian Embassy. But at the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services,” Yulia Skripal, who was a Russian citizen when poisoned, told the news service.

She added that she wanted to make it clear that “no one speaks for me or for my father but ourselves.”