For the first time, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia have shared the harrowing details of the chemical attack that nearly claimed their lives in Salisbury in March 2018.
Targeted by assassins linked to Vladimir Putin, the father-and-daughter duo survived the deadly Novichok nerve agent, but only after spending three weeks in comas and enduring a long recovery. They have remained in hiding ever since.
The Poisoning Began Over Lunch
The Skripals’ ordeal started while they were enjoying a meal at the Italian restaurant chain Zizzi.
Yulia, who had arrived in Britain from Russia the previous day, remembers initially thinking it was almost funny when their eyes started twitching.
But the amusement quickly turned to terror as symptoms intensified — breathlessness, hallucinations, and vomiting overtook them.
Yulia described the street outside the restaurant as “swinging around” and recalled having to hold her father’s hand.
By the time they reached a nearby car park, the poison was taking full effect.
“Everything was blurred and colors were changing… it was like being on LSD or amphetamines,” she said, before falling unconscious.
Members of the public who called 999 helped prevent her from choking on her own vomit.
Hallucinations and the Coma
Sergei Skripal, 74, also recounted his experiences during the attack.
“I remember hallucinating and seeing Arabic men and women. I tried to punch one of them,” he said.
Even knowing it wasn’t real, the visions were vivid and frightening.
CCTV captured Yulia leaning on her father, moving only slightly, as the nerve agent wreaked havoc on their bodies.
When Sergei awoke from his coma, he was disoriented.
“When I stopped dreaming I thought it had been one day, but really it had been 21 days,” he said.
The experience left both Skripals shaken and reliant on extensive medical care.
A Massive Investigation Unfolds
The attack triggered an enormous investigation, involving 180 military experts in chemical warfare defence and decontamination.
The inquiry, now led by Justice Lord Hughes, also looks at the death of Dawn Sturgess, 44, who accidentally sprayed herself with Novichok after her partner found it discarded in a perfume bottle.
She died three weeks later, the only fatality from the series of poisonings.
Testing confirmed that the nerve agent was “military grade” Novichok, developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, focusing suspicion on Russia.
Security measures ensured the Skripals would not give evidence in person or remotely, preserving their safety.
Sergei Skripal’s Spy Past
Sergei Skripal was a colonel in Russia’s GRU spy agency.
Arrested in 2004 for passing intelligence to MI6, he served six years of a 15-year sentence before being released in a 2010 spy swap.
Despite his release, the Kremlin has maintained that double agents “will ultimately meet their fate.”
The Suspected Assassins
British authorities believe two men, entering the UK under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, administered the poison.
Later identified as Ivan Yermakov and Aleksey Lukashev, the men claimed they were tourists visiting Salisbury’s cathedral spire — a story met with widespread ridicule.
The UK also accuses them of hacking Yulia Skripal’s emails since 2013 using malware called X-Agent, and both men appear on the FBI’s most-wanted list for alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.
A Long Shadow Over Salisbury
The Skripals’ story is one of survival amid state-sponsored targeting, international espionage, and chemical warfare.
As the inquiry continues and a verdict is expected next month, the case remains a stark reminder of the dangers faced by defectors and whistleblowers, and the global reach of modern espionage.
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