Friday 19 / April / 2024
Salisbury: A former Russian spy was in intensive care on Monday, March 5, after being exposed to an unknown substance in the UK. That's according to a source close to an investigation into the incident who said the man is Sergei Skripal, a former military intelligence officer who was convicted in Russia in 2006 of spying for Britain.
Police said two people - a 66-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman - had been found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday, March 4.
Wiltshire Police's Temporary Assistant Chief Constable, Craig Holden said, "Both are in a critical condition and are in intensive care. Because we are at an early stage in the investigation we are unable to ascertain if a crime has taken place. However, a major incident has been declared and a multi-agency response has been coordinated."
Skripal was granted refuge in the UK after a spy swap between the US and Russia in 2010.
Relations between Britain and Russia have been strained since ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium-210 in London in 2006 - a killing which a British inquiry said was probably approved by President Vladimir Putin
