Russian Ex-spy Poisoning: Daughter's Condition Improves

The daughter of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who with her father was poisoned with a nerve agent at his home in England earlier this month, is no longer in a critical condition and is improving rapidly, the hospital said on Thursday.

Yulia Skripal, 33, and her 66-year-old father were found on March 4 slumped on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury where the former Russian double agent lived.

British counter-terrorism police believe a nerve toxin had been left on the front door of his home. Last week, a British judge said the Skripals might have suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the attack.

"I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal," Christine Blanshard, Medical Director for Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement.

"She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day."

Her father remained in a critical but stable condition, the hospital said.

Britain has blamed the attempted murder on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and expelled 23 Russians it said were spies working under diplomatic cover in retaliation.

Russia, which denies carrying out the attack, responded by throwing out 23 British diplomats. Moscow has since accused the British secret services of trying to frame Russia to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

The attack on Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of Russian agents to Britain's MI6 spy service, has plunged Moscow's relations with the West to a new post-Cold War low.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said late on Wednesday the Kremlin had underestimated the Western response to the attack, which also injured a British policeman.

Johnson told an audience of ambassadors in London that 27 countries had now moved to expel Russian diplomats over Moscow's suspected involvement.

"These expulsions represent a moment when a feeling has suddenly crystallised, when years of vexation and provocation have worn the collective patience to breaking point, and when across the world – across three continents – there are countries who are willing to say enough is enough," Johnson said.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Moscow on Thursday Britain was breaking international law by refusing to provide information on Yulia Skripal despite the fact she was a Russian citizen.

Also on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was watching closely a media report that Britain might limit London's role in marketing Russian debt to investors.