The niece of the former Russian spy and his daughter – both mysteriously poisoned with nerve gas in Britain this month – says the prognosis for their survival "really isn't good."
"Out of 99 percent, I have maybe 1 percent of hope," Viktoria Skripal said of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were found unconscious on a park bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.
She told the BBC: "Whatever it was has given them a very small chance of survival. But they're going to be invalids for the rest of their lives ...
"We are all grown-ups and we don't believe in miracles, but I can stop thinking … maybe a miracle will happen … maybe they'll get better."
Victoria also revealed that Skripal's elderly mother has yet to be informed of the horrific attack.
"The first priority was to protect our granny so that she won't find out or hear anything," she said.
The victims are in comas and in critical, but stable condition.
On Monday, the Trump administration said it had expelled 60 diplomats from the U.S. over the nerve gas incident, which is universally being blamed on Russia.
The U.S. action comes on the heels of British Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement that 18 countries have expelled Russian officials, including 14 in the European Union, after what she said was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War II.
In total, 100 Russian diplomats are being removed, the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War – a move Russia has vowed retaliation for.
Victoria said she was not sure where the blame lies.
"Who did it? I just don't know. I really don't know," she told the BBC. "One side said it was the British secret services, the British say it was the Russians. I don't know and don't want to hazard a guess."
British authorities say Sergei, 66, and Yulia, 33, were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent which was developed by the Soviet Union and held by Russia. Moscow denies all responsibility for the attack.
Nerve gas is a particularly nasty substance which contains a chemical messenger that paralyzes nerves controlling muscle movements, breathing and other functions.
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