BBC: Yulia Skripal is awake… and talking

BBC News reports that Yulia Skripal, the daughter of ex-Soviet spy Sergey Skripal, is now awake and talking, as she recovers from the attempt on her and her father’s lives in Salisbury, England. This report came from the BBC at approximately 6:30pm London time (British Summer Time, or BST).

Doctors said Ms Skripal, “has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day”.

“I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the staff of Salisbury District Hospital for delivering such high quality care to these patients over the last few weeks,” said Dr Christine Blanshard, Medical Director for Salisbury District Hospital.

“I am very proud both of our front-line staff and all those who support them.”

At this time Sergey Skripal is still unconscious and in critical but stable condition. There is also no clear indication of what Yulia has been talking about, or what the long-term effects of the poisoning, allegedly that of a Novichok agent, will be.

The case is being treated as an attempted murder. Traces of the nerve agent were in quantity on the door handle to the Skripal home, and it was also found in other places around Salisbury in trace amounts. Besides the Skripals, 21 other people were affected by the agent, the most seriously being Officer Nick Bailey, who assisted the Skripals when he found them unconscious, only to get dosed himself. He has recovered though, and is discharged from the hospital.

The incident has created a massive diplomatic row between the UK and its allies and the Russian Federation, with Britain’s leadership accusing the Russian government, most specifically President Vladimir Putin, with culpability in regards to this poisoning, a charge Moscow vehemently denies. Further, the row has resulted in multiple diplomatic expulsions of Russian and western envoys and diplomats from the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the closing of the British Council in Moscow.

One might have some hope that Yulia, and God willing, Sergey, will recover and be able to give some more information about what happened, and who might have done this.