Viktoria Skripal not hopeful about former Russian spy and daughter in nerve agent attack 
 
 The niece of the poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has said he and his daughter Yulia have only a slim chance of surviving. 
 
 Viktoria Skripal said the prognosis for both “really isn’t good” following the novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 4 March. 
 
 She told the BBC: “Out of 99% I have maybe 1% of hope. 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.” 
 
 
 
 Salisbury health risks assessed as £1m aid package approved Read more 
 
 She also revealed that Skripal’s mother had not been told of the incident, adding: “The first priority was to protect our granny so that she wouldn’t hear or find out anything.” 
 
 Countries across the world have joined the UK in taking diplomatic action against Russia, which has been blamed for the attack. 
 
 Theresa May said the “unprecedented series of expulsions” of Russian diplomats sent a strong message to Moscow that it could not ignore international law. 
 
 Briefing the cabinet on Tuesday, the prime minister reported that 23 countries had expelled more than 115 Russian intelligence diplomats. She told her colleagues this demonstrated to the Kremlin “that we will not tolerate their attempts to flout international law, undermine our values or threaten our security”. 
 
 The Russian embassy in the UK said the prime minister had still not presented evidence that the country was responsible for the poisonings, adding that “no one in the wider world would take British words for granted”. 
 
 May wants west to develop long-term response to Russia Read more 
 
 On Wednesday, Ireland became the 24th country to join the the UK in taking diplomatic action against the Kremlin. 
 
 Nato announced it was cutting the size of its Russian mission by a third, removing accreditation from seven Russian staff and rejecting three other pending applications. Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said the permanent size of the Russian mission would be cut from 30 to 20 people, adding that the gesture was “a clear and very strong message that there was a cost to Russia’s reckless actions”. ||||| The best friend of Sergei Skripal believes the poisoned double agent and his daughter Yulia are so critically ill they should be allowed to die. 
 
 Ross Cassidy, a haulage contractor, met Mr Skripal when he moved in next door in Salisbury in 2010, shortly after the Russian arrived in a spy swap with Moscow. 
 
 Image: Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal are in hospital after being poisoned. File pic 
 
 He told Sky News: "Quite frankly, what future have they got? I don't know the properties of this weapon that was used on them and my guess is they are probably being kept alive by artificial means and what life will they have if they survive? 
 
 "We've already been told they will be severely mentally impaired and I don't think they would want that. I think death would probably be merciful." 
 
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 Mr Cassidy got to know Sergei, his wife Lyudmila, his son Alexandr (who was known as Sasha) and Yulia. 
 
 Mr Skripal, 66, a military intelligence officer, had been convicted and jailed in Russia for spying for MI6. 
 
 Mr Cassidy said: "It was a bit unusual having a Russian family there, but they were very friendly and when they bought their own home nearby and moved out we continued our friendship. Sergei's English was okay, though his wife's wasn't and she didn't mix so much, but Yulia was almost fluent. 
 
 "We became great pals and I introduced Sergei to a lot of things, including English beer and he introduced me to vodka." 
 
 :: Salisbury public areas to be decontaminated 
 
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 Mr Cassidy, 61, has spent many hours with counter-terror detectives investigating the poisoning, but would not discuss the police operation. 
 
 "I was aware of his background and I can't say I approve of treachery, but that was none of my business," he said. 
 
 "Sergei spent a lot of time out of the country and there were times when I didn't see him, but he used to call me his English friend. He was very generous and never forgot my birthday, usually buying me an expensive bottle of whisky." 
 
 :: Britain's ability to respond to Salisbury attack was underestimated 
 
 0:37 Video: Salisbury nerve agent bench removed 
 
 On Saturday 3 March, Mr Cassidy drove Mr Skripal to Heathrow to collect Yulia, who had moved back to Moscow and was visiting her father. It had been snowing and Sergei asked his pal if they could use his four-wheel-drive pick-up truck. 
 
 The next day father and daughter were found collapsed in Salisbury city centre after being attacked with the nerve agent novichok. 
 
 Mr Cassidy said: "I remember when my wife Mo came upstairs to tell me. We had heard about the incident in the town and we didn't know who it was, but Mo said the couple who had been poisoned were Sergei and Yulia. 
 
 "To say we were shocked is the understatement of the century. I realised from that moment on it was going to be massive and it has occupied every part of our lives." 
 
 :: Recap: Belgium joins nations expelling diplomats 
 
 Image: Police officers in protective suits and masks at the scene of the nerve agent attack 
 
 Mr Cassidy said he had spent so much time with the police and dealing with media inquiries that he had barely considered the serious plight of his friends. 
 
 "It wasn't until about 10 days later I started thinking, 'Hang on a minute, Sergei and Yulia are in hospital and are probably going to die', and I actually felt guilty that I hadn't thought more about that," he said. 
 
 Last week, in a court ruling about the Skripals' medical needs, a judge quoted the consultant treating them in Salisbury district hospital: "The hospital has not been approached by anyone known to the patients to enquire of their welfare." 
 
 Mr Cassidy was upset by the suggestion there wasn't anyone who cared enough to want to go and see the Skripals. 
 
 He said: "That is misinformation, because we care. I asked the police several times if we could go and see them, quietly and away from the media, but I was told quite categorically that we were not allowed. We asked the question and the answer was 'no'. 
 
 "We were also upset that if his family and friends in Russia got to hear about this lack of concern it would cause them extra anguish." 
 
 Two weeks after the nerve agent attack, police recovered Mr Cassidy's truck he used to collect Yulia. He has just been told they found no trace of contamination. 
 
 He said: "I just want to go back to being the old Ross Cassidy, putting on my boots each morning and going to work, then having a pint at the weekend. But I don't think I will ever see Sergei and Yulia again, even if they recover." 
 
 Meanwhile, Viktoria Skripal, Mr Skripal's niece, told the BBC she was hoping for a miracle. 
 
 She said: "We are all grown up and we don't believe in miracles but I can't stop thinking that maybe it's not them. 
 
 "Maybe a miracle will happen and it will turn out not to be them. 
 
 "But everyone is saying that, even if they recover, the long-term prognosis is not good." ||||| Daughter of Sergei Skripal said to be improving rapidly while former spy remains critical after nerve agent poisoning 
 
 The condition of Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury along with her father, is improving rapidly, doctors have said. 
 
 Salisbury NHS foundation trust said on Thursday the 33-year-old was no longer in a critical condition, describing her medical state as stable. 
 
 Christine Blanshard, the medical director for Salisbury district hospital, said: “I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal. She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day. 
 
 
 
 “I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the staff of Salisbury district hospital for delivering such high-quality care to these patients over the last few weeks. I am very proud both of our frontline staff and all those who support them.” 
 
 Her father’s condition was described by the hospital as still critical but stable. Sergei Skripal, 66, a former Russian double agent, is believed to have been the main target of the attack. 
 
 The update came as Russia said it was taking tit-for-tat measures against all the nations that have expelled Russian diplomats over the attack. 
 
 In a separate development, Scotland Yard said police had placed a cordon around a children’s play area near Sergei Skripal’s home as a precautionary measure. 
 
 “Officers investigating the attempted murders of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal are continuing to focus their enquiries around the Skripals’ home address,” a police statement revealed. 
 
 
 
 “As a precautionary measure, they have this afternoon placed a cordon around a children’s play area at Montgomery Gardens, near the Skripals’ home.” 
 
 Deputy assistant commissioner Dean Haydon said: “I would like to reassure residents that we have placed the cordons around the park, and officers will be searching it, as a precautionary measure. I would like to reiterate Public Health England’s advice that the risk to the public is low.” 
 
 Detectives said they believed the pair were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok, which had been smeared on Sergei Skripal’s front door. 
 
 Novichok: nerve agent produced at only one site in Russia, says expert Read more 
 
 At least 130 people could have been exposed to the chemical weapon in the aftermath of the poisoning, responsibility for which the UK government believes lies with the Russian state. 
 
 Recent interviews with Sergei Skripal’s niece in Russia had suggested there was little chance of either of them recovering. 
 
 
 
 Viktoria Skripal told the BBC: “Out of 99% I have maybe 1% of hope. 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.” 
 
 
 
 She also revealed that Skripal’s mother had not been told of the incident, adding: “The first priority was to protect our granny so that she wouldn’t hear or find out anything.” 
 
 About 250 counter-terrorism detectives continue to work around the clock on the investigation, which is expected to continue for months. 
 
 
 
 Officers are examining more than 5,000 hours of CCTV footage and 1,350 exhibits that have been seized, while 500 witnesses have been identified. 
 
 
 
 The London Road cemetery, where Skripal’s wife and son are buried, the Maltings shopping centre and the Ashley Wood compound have been handed back into the control of Wiltshire police. 
 
 Britain has accused Russia of being behind the poisoning – allegations fiercely denied by Moscow. 
 
 At least 26 countries have expelled Russian diplomats expelling diplomats suspected of being spies. The latest country to join in the coordinated action was Georgia, which said it “condemns the use of chemical weapons on the territory of the United Kingdom”. 
 
 Novichuk works by attacking the nervous system, preventing chemical messages being transmitted around the body. It causes the heart to slow and airways to become constricted. 
 
 Wiltshire police detective Sgt Nick Bailey, who was also exposed to the nerve agent, was discharged from the hospital last week.
– Theresa May predicted that ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia may never fully recover after being poisoned with a nerve agent March 4 in Salisbury, England. Now a family member tells the BBC, via the Guardian, that the outlook for the pair "really isn't good" and that her family has kept news of what happened from Skripal's own mother. "I have maybe 1% of hope," Viktoria Skripal, the ex-spy's niece, says. "Whatever it was has given them a very small chance of survival." And if they do make it, she adds, "they're going to be invalids for the rest of their lives." Still, she says that even though "we are all grown up and … don't believe in miracles," her family is still hoping for one, per Sky News. (The UK believes the poison path leads right back to the Kremlin.)