Poisoned ex-spy's daughter says wants to return to Russia 'in future'

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May 23, 2018 7:14 PM

Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with her ex-spy father in Britain in March, said in a video statement Wednesday she would like to eventually return to Russia but first needed to get better.

"I was discharged from hospital on April 9th but my treatment is continuing," Yulia Skripal said in a video statement to Reuters which was broadcast on national television in Russia.

"In the future I hope to return home back to my country," she said.

The 33-year-old, who is under the protection of the British government, spoke from an undisclosed location. She wore a light blue dress and smiled as she began to speak.

Speaking in Russian, she said she was grateful to Russian diplomats for their help but said she "was not ready" to accept assistance from the Russian embassy at this stage.

"I don't want to go into details but I would just like to say that the treatment was invasive and deeply depressing," she said in her first media appearance since the March 4 poisoning.

"I try to take one day at a time and want to help my father until he fully recovers," she added.

"My life has been turned upside down and right now I am trying to come to terms with incredible changes in my life, both physical and emotional."

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found slumped on a bench in the English city of Salisbury in March, sparking a bitter diplomatic crisis between Moscow and London, who say a nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union was used on the pair.

Yulia Skripal was visiting her father when the attack took place.

Sergei Skripal had moved to Britain in 2010 as part of a spy exchange after being imprisoned in Russia for selling secrets to British intelligence while he was working for the GRU, Russia's premier foreign military intelligence agency.

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