Poisoned Russian agent Sergei Skripal recovering rapidly, hospital says

[rooster59]

Poisoned Russian agent Sergei Skripal recovering rapidly, hospital says

By Alistair Smout and Guy Faulconbridge

 

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel of Russia's GRU military intelligence service, looks on inside the defendants' cage as he attends a hearing at the Moscow military district court, Russia August 9, 2006. Picture taken August 9, 2006. Kommersant/Yuri Senatorov via REUTERS

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal is no longer in a critical condition and his health is improving rapidly, more than a month after he was poisoned with a nerve agent in England, the hospital treating him said on Friday.

 

Skripal, 66, who as a colonel in Russian military intelligence betrayed dozens of agents to Britain's foreign spy service, was found slumped unconscious on a bench in the city of Salisbury along with his daughter Yulia on March 4.

 

Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning, the first known offensive use of such a nerve agent on European soil since World War Two. Moscow denied any involvement and suggested Britain had carried out the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

 

After weeks of no reported change in his condition, the hospital confirmed that Skripal, who had been treated under heavy sedation, was now making fast progress.

 

"He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition," Christine Blanshard, Medical Director at Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement.

 

Prime Minister Theresa May said the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok, a deadly group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s.

 

Russia has said it does not have such nerve agents and President Vladimir Putin dismissed as nonsense the notion that Moscow would have poisoned Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter.

 

The attack prompted the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the Cold War as allies in Europe and the United States sided with May's view that Moscow was either responsible or had lost control of the nerve agent.

 

Moscow has hit back by expelling Western diplomats, questioning how Britain knows that Russia was responsible and offering its rival interpretations, including that it amounted to a plot by British secret services.

 

Skripal's improvement marks the latest twist in an affair that British and Russian diplomats have variously compared with Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie mysteries.

 

Doctors had initially feared that the Skripals might have suffered permanent brain damage. A British judge said last month that the attack might have left them with compromised mental capacity, with an unclear effect on their long-term health.

 

The hospital did not say whether either Sergei or Yulia would suffer long term effects. Britain's foreign office welcomed the improvement in the Skripals but said they were "likely to have ongoing medical needs".

 

One toxicologist said recovery in such cases was possible. "We know that nerve agents cause a temporary but potentially lengthy effect on the brain and nervous system. What we also know however, is that with time the body clears the nerve agent away," Chris Morris, a doctor at Newcastle University's Medical Toxicology Centre, said in a statement.

 

"If the correct treatment is given quickly and the right support provided, then recovery is typically very good."

 

Yulia's health has also improved rapidly. On Thursday, she issued a statement through British police to thank hospital staff and people who came to her help when "when my father and I were incapacitated".

 

Russian state television reported that Yulia had phoned her cousin in Russia and told her that she and her father were both recovering and that she expected to leave hospital soon. Their recovery could ultimately help British counter-terrorism police piece together how they were attacked.

 

British authorities have denied the cousin, Viktoria Skripal, a visa to visit the patients, the Home Office (interior ministry) said on Friday. Victoria Skripal told Sky News that the "British must have something to hide" after the decision.

 

CLAIMS, COUNTER-CLAIMS AND THREATS

 

Both Moscow and London have accused each other of trying to deceive the world with an array of claims, counter-claims and threats.

 

In a separate announcement, the United States imposed major sanctions on Friday against 24 Russians in one of Washington's most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for what it called a range of "malign activity," including alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

 

At a session of the executive of the global chemical weapons watchdog this week, Russia called for a joint inquiry into the poisoning of the Skripals, but lost a vote on the motion.

 

At a United Nation Security Council meeting on Thursday, Russia warned Britain that "you're playing with fire and you'll be sorry" over its accusations.

 

Sergei Skripal, who was recruited by Britain's MI6, was arrested for treason in Moscow in 2004. He ended up in Britain after being swapped in 2010 for Russian spies caught in the United States.

 

Since emerging from the John le Carre world of high espionage and betrayal, Skripal lived modestly in Salisbury and kept out of the spotlight until he was found poisoned.

 

British police believe a nerve agent was left on the front door of his home. Skripal's cat was put down by British authorities. His guinea pigs were discovered dead.

 

"When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died," a British government spokeswoman said.

 

"A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering," the spokeswoman said.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-07

[evadgib]

My gut feeling is that both were able to pass details of the attack to the security services long before they'd have us believe...

[Topdoc]

The victims so far: A Prime Minister, a Secretary of State, 2 guinea pigs and a cat

[Thingamabob]

Sounds more like food poisoning than nerve gas. I also find the story regarding the guinea pigs and the cat to be not credible, being merely an attempt to bolster the UK government's story. 

[champers]

I find it difficult to believe that if the Russians wanted this guy dead he would have been polished off and not recovering in hospital.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Sounds more like food poisoning than nerve gas. I also find the story regarding the guinea pigs and the cat to be not credible, being merely an attempt to bolster the UK government's story. 

 

Just what happened with the animals isn't really clear from the above news report.

 

Were they somehow affected by the nerve agent. Or did they run into trouble because their owners weren't there to provide food and water...

 

I don't recall reading any other news reports that talked about the couple's animals, so that's a new one on me.

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

The pets were left unattended in the house for four weeks. The two guinea pigs died of dehydration, the cat was so malnourished and dehydrated that it had to be put down by a vet.

[GroveHillWanderer]

32 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Sounds more like food poisoning than nerve gas. I also find the story regarding the guinea pigs and the cat to be not credible, being merely an attempt to bolster the UK government's story. 

People are not typically left foaming at the mouth and unconscious from food poisoning, nor do they normally remain in a coma for 3-4 weeks thereafter. What do you find strange about animals dying of dehydration (the guinea pigs) or becoming severely malnourished and dehydrated (the cat) after a month without food or water?

[Stargeezr]

My thinking is that MI6 etc have had many chats with this guy, and now he is well enough

to be ready to leave, just like  his daughter. Might be interesting to see what he says

publically when he is able to talk to reporters.  I wonder if some people in Russia are

sweating all ready.

Geezer

[Catoni]

  I thought that Russia, under Putin, uses a very tiny pellet filled with radioactive Polonium to assassinate individuals in other countries.  It only feels like a momentry little pinch or very tiny needle sting when injected. 

    If that is the case... those two would be dead... not recovering.  I think maybe Russia did not do it this time.  Although of course... I guess it's possible they still could have done it. 

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

My thinking is that MI6 etc have had many chats with this guy, and now he is well enough

to be ready to leave, just like  his daughter. Might be interesting to see what he says

publically when he is able to talk to reporters.  I wonder if some people in Russia are

sweating all ready.

Geezer

How would he know who poisoned him?

[GroveHillWanderer]

2 hours ago, Catoni said:

  I thought that Russia, under Putin, uses a very tiny pellet filled with radioactive Polonium to assassinate individuals in other countries.  It only feels like a momentry little pinch or very tiny needle sting when injected. 

    If that is the case... those two would be dead... not recovering.  I think maybe Russia did not do it this time.  Although of course... I guess it's possible they still could have done it. 

Only one individual, Alexander Litvinenko, has ever been killed using Polonium as a weapon and it's not known how it was administered. A teapot in the hotel where Litvinenko met with two Russian agents was found to be "off the charts" in terms of Polonium levels so it seems possible the tea was dosed with it. In any event, that hardly establishes it as some kind of standard practice.

[baboon]

11 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

How would he know who poisoned him?

You can take a very educated guess on the basis of who you have upset and their capability of doing you harm...

[GroveHillWanderer]

4 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

My thinking is that MI6 etc have had many chats with this guy, and now he is well enough

to be ready to leave, just like  his daughter. Might be interesting to see what he says

publically when he is able to talk to reporters.  I wonder if some people in Russia are

sweating all ready.

Geezer

When do you think MI6 have had chats with Sergei Skripal? I have not seen any evidence that he is even conscious yet, let alone capable of speech. All the hospital has said, is that he is  "responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition."

 

As for leaving hospital, even his daughter, who is conscious and talking, is not well enough to leave hospital yet. Once again according to the hospital, any speculation about when and if she might be able leave is "just that - speculation."

[Morch]

17 hours ago, champers said:

I find it difficult to believe that if the Russians wanted this guy dead he would have been polished off and not recovering in hospital.

 

Because Russians do not blunder? Don't make mistakes? 

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, baboon said:

You can take a very educated guess on the basis of who you have upset and their capability of doing you harm...

Being a spy you will have loads of enemies, working for 2 sides even more. So forget about that very educated guess.

[rockingrobin]

18 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

The pets were left unattended in the house for four weeks. The two guinea pigs died of dehydration, the cat was so malnourished and dehydrated that it had to be put down by a vet.

The pets were not left unattended four 4 weeks. The report of their death was reported some 4  weeks after the incident. There are reports that the animals were collected on the 14 or 17th of March. What is not clear is where the cat was put down , Porton Down or at the property.

[ChouDoufu]

21 minutes ago, rockingrobin said:

The pets were not left unattended four 4 weeks. The report of their death was reported some 4  weeks after the incident. There are reports that the animals were collected on the 14 or 17th of March. What is not clear is where the cat was put down , Porton Down or at the property.

must have been terrible for the police officers, stationed right outside the front door 24/7, to be forced to listen to the screams of a cat dying of thirst and starvation.

[rockingrobin]

17 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

must have been terrible for the police officers, stationed right outside the front door 24/7, to be forced to listen to the screams of a cat dying of thirst and starvation.

The house was sealed  off , what date this actually occurred is unclear. However what is prominent is the the property was not cordoned off

[ChouDoufu]

i thought the house had been thoroughly searched, but maybe not.  would think that if a chemical weapon had been used and live animals were found, it would make sense to test for exposure.

 

there is a report on RT that immediately after hearing of the skripal event, the salisbury vet contacted the police to inform them of the animals.

 

the house had been sealed, but police were stationed at the door.  guinea pigs will die relatively quickly, but cats should last a long time.  and they aren't quiet.  houses in that area are built close together, can't imagine a neighbor wouldn't hear and complain about a cat screeching for days on end.

 

**ok.  on unknown date, a vet was allowed to enter the house and found the animals.  they were taken to porton down where the cat was killed, and all 3 have been cremated.  no word on the whereabouts of the second cat.  (per the journal - ireland)

Edited April 8, 2018 by ChouDoufu

[evadgib]

Had Rabies been the culprit everything within a 5 or perhaps 10 mile radius would have been annihilated, be they pets, livestock or wild inc Badgers & anything else that calls Salisbury Plain (N) or the New Forest(S) home.

[rockingrobin]

31 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

i thought the house had been thoroughly searched, but maybe not.  would think that if a chemical weapon had been used and live animals were found, it would make sense to test for exposure.

 

there is a report on RT that immediately after hearing of the skripal event, the salisbury vet contacted the police to inform them of the animals.

 

the house had been sealed, but police were stationed at the door.  guinea pigs will die relatively quickly, but cats should last a long time.  and they aren't quiet.  houses in that area are built close together, can't imagine a neighbor wouldn't hear and complain about a cat screeching for days on end.

 

**ok.  on unknown date, a vet was allowed to enter the house and found the animals.  they were taken to porton down where the cat was killed, and all 3 have been cremated.  no word on the whereabouts of the second cat.  (per the journal - ireland)

The second cat ran away, I will try to locate the report.

To gain some understanding you have to go back to day1 and 2.

After the Skripals had been taken away by the ambulance, the local police started to lift the cordon and allow pedestrians access to area. At some point this was area was declared an incident area and the fire brigade arrived in Hazmat gear and decontaminated the area. ( one wonders why the bench was recovered considering it had already been decontaminated)

It is difficult to reconcile how a detective sergeant with the CID , is one of the first responders , in addition to how he became contaminated and unwell , when a nurse who gave first aid suffered no symptons. 

However there is one report that the detective sergeant visited the Skripals home on the monday 24 hours after the incident. 

 

[ChouDoufu]

why incinerate the animals with an investigation ongoing?

surely porton down has ziploc bags and freezers.

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, rockingrobin said:

It is difficult to reconcile how a detective sergeant with the CID , is one of the first responders , in addition to how he became contaminated and unwell , when a nurse who gave first aid suffered no symptons. 

However there is one report that the detective sergeant visited the Skripals home on the monday 24 hours after the incident. 

Not just one report - several. It was also stated in so many words by the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Blair in a BBC interview, as follows:

 

Quote

“The officer, and I'm very sorry that he has been injured, has actually been to the house, whereas there was a doctor who looked after the patients in the open who hasn't been affected at all.

“So there may be some clues floating around in here.”

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I see an op-ed columnist for the Guardian has a pretty spot on description of how Russia (joined by some posters here) is trying to deal with the fallout of the Skripal attempted assassinations and similar episodes in the past:

 

Quote

Clearly, Boris’s needless overstatement was a gift to troll tsar Putin, whose known modus operandi is to encourage and seed multiple doubts and conspiracy theories about any Russia-related misdeeds until the factual environment is more toxically polluted than one of the reactor ghost towns the Soviets forgot to admit to.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/06/boris-johnson-post-truth-post-shame-novichok

 

 

[maximillian]

25 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I see an op-ed columnist for the Guardian has a pretty spot on description of how Russia (joined by some posters here) is trying to deal with the fallout of the Skripal attempted assassinations and similar episodes in the past:

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/06/boris-johnson-post-truth-post-shame-novichok

 

 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49168.htm

 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49170.htm

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, maximillian said:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49168.htm

 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49170.htm

 

Author is by "Moon of Alabama"????  You're really dredging the depths.

 

There's probably a good reason they publish "news" that people won't find on either CNN or Fox....

[evadgib]

Boris on Cor-blimey:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43686718

[GroveHillWanderer]

5 hours ago, rockingrobin said:

There are reports that the animals were collected on the 14 or 17th of March.

Where are you finding these reports? (Genuine question, I'm not being snarky). I've searched and searched but the only info I can find dates from the reports of 2 or 3 days ago. Some of the reports have an official statement from DEFRA, saying only that:

 

Quote

"When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died," the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said in a statement. "A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering."

There's nothing indicating when the vet accessed the property that I have been able to find. In any event, even if it was the 14th or 17th, that's still long enough for the animals to have suffered the effects of dehydration through being trapped in the sealed-off property.

 

Edit: Just found a report in the Sun, dated 17 March that quotes a neighbour as saying they understood that the pets had been taken away.

Edited April 8, 2018 by GroveHillWanderer

[evadgib]

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/only-russia-could-have-committed-this-crime-article-by-boris-johnson