Yulia Skripal rejects Russian Embassy help

Yulia, who spent more than a month in hospital, was discharged from the facility on Monday.

In a statement released through police, the 33-year-old said: "I have access to friends and family, and I have been made aware of my specific contacts at the Russian embassy who have kindly offered me their assistance in any way they can."

"At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services, but, if I change my mind I know how to contact them," she said.

Russia however has been skeptical about the response, doubting its legitimacy.

Releasing a statement, the embassy said that it 'only strengthens suspicions that we are dealing with a forcible isolation of the Russian citizen'.

"With no possibility to verify it, the publication by the Metropolitan Police raises new questions rather than gives answers," it said.

"As before, we would like to make sure that the statement really belongs to Yulia. So far, we doubt it much.

"The text has been composed in a special way so as to support official statements made by British authorities and at the same time to exclude every possibility of Yulia's contacts with the outer world - consuls, journalists, and even relatives," the statement added.

Yulia's father Sergei is still said to be in a critical yet stable condition. He is presently admitted in Salisbury District Hospital.

The said attack took place in UK's Salisbury region on Mar 4.

A Novichok nerve agent was supposedly used, which led to UK believing that Russia was behind the attack, though the latter has rubbished the claim.

In response, the UK asked 23 Russian diplomats to leave the country.

Soon after the incident, over 20 countries asked Russian diplomats to leave.

The US expelled 60 Russian diplomats.

Russia retaliated, expelling the same number of US diplomats from the country.

Diplomats from the UK too were expelled by Moscow.

Image: Websitegrab from BBC