Ex-spy’s daughter makes first comments since poisoning: It’s been ‘somewhat disorienting’

The woman who was poisoned alongside her father, a former Russian spy, said in her first public comments since the attack that the episode has been “somewhat disorientating.”

Yulia Skripal, 33, said in a statement issued through London’s Metropolitan Police that her “strength is growing daily” since she awoke from a coma last week.

“I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence,” she said. 

{mosads}

Yulia Skripal was found on a park bench in Salisbury, England, with her father, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, last month after being poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. 

Sergei Skripal, 66, a Russian-born British citizen, remains in critical condition and is still incapacitated. 

U.K. officials have blamed the poisoning on the Russian government. Moscow has denied any involvement in the attack. 

The poisoning and subsequent allegations against Russia ignited an intense diplomatic tit-for-tat between Moscow and the West.

More than two dozen countries announced last month that they would expel Russian officials from their borders as punishment for the poisoning of the Skripals, decrying what they dubbed the brazen use of a nerve agent in Europe.

Russia responded in kind to those expulsions by booting out dozens of foreign diplomats, including 60 American officials, and shuttering the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg. Washington has held out the possibility of further action against Moscow.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the Trump administration is preparing to impose fresh sanctions on Russian oligarchs with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those sanctions are reportedly expected by Friday.