Police: Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, daughter poisoned at their front door


Police in Britain say Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, first came in contact with the nerve agent that poisoned them at the front door of their house.
Earlier this month, the Skripals were found unconscious on a bench outside a mall in Salisbury. Sergei Skripal was once a Russian military intelligence officer, later convicted of passing along information on Russian spies to Britain; he was released from jail as part of a spy swap in 2010, and moved to Salisbury. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said the Skripals were poisoned by a nerve agents developed by Russia, from a group known as Novichok agents, and there is "no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian state was culpable."
The agent used in the attack may have delivered through a "gloopy substance" smeared on the front door's handle, the BBC reports. Sergei and Yulia Skripal both remain in critical condition, and his niece, Viktoria Skripal, said doctors gave them "a very small chance of survival."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Pakistan's solar panel boom
Under The Radar A 'perfect storm' has created a solar 'revolution' in the south Asian country
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverage
Speed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion charges
Speed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threat
Speed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
-
Leonard Peltier released from prison
Speed Read The Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents had his life sentence commuted by former President Joe Biden
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years
Speed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year