Is there a thread about the poisoning of Skripal? [title edited by MNHQ]

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

I've not seen a thread about it at all, but surely there must be?

So, to those who are local, has there been any news or suggestion that individuals have been presenting as feeling unwell? I know they’re slow to do it, but I’m just wondering why there’s a lot of activity to cordone off areas.

There’s nothing on TV news about what the locals feel. Is something being covered up? I’d have expected journalists to be hanging about outside the hospital.

James I’m not sure why journos would be outside the hospital. That would be a great invasion of privacy for any patient and I expect the authorities would tell any journos to go away.

I’m local and know people who were in the restaurant an hour after the Skripals and people who helped them in the hospital. No one has reported illnesses and everyone seems pretty calm.

I’m in Salisbury a couple of times week and people are just getting on with their lives. It was quiet in there last week but today was pretty busy for a Monday.

Dh likes to drive up up and up through car parks for no apparent reason

Thought that was just my DH!

I think the reason Sergei and Yulia are still alive is down to the incredible actions of the off duty doctor and nurse on the scene at the start.

That and the fact porton down so close to analyse and provide answers quickly.

But you have to wonder about the comings and goings of Yulia. That she thought she was safe to go back and live in Russia after her father was swapped, to come and go without surveillance.

Indeed. I had wondered about that. What if Sergei was the victim, but Yulia had been recruited by the FIS and was the perpetrator, who botched the job, and managed to contaminate herself in the process?

Indeed. I had wondered about that. What if Sergei was the victim, but Yulia had been recruited by the FIS and was the perpetrator, who botched the job, and managed to contaminate herself in the process?

Oh my goodness. Really??? Could that be possible?? It just gets worse if that’s the case.

Do you really think that's likely given Skripal also lost his wife and son under suspicious circumstances? I think it's highly unlikely that Yulia would be turned.

Did anyone just hear the car crash interview on Today with some representative of the Russian govt, Vitali Milanov, and Radic Sikorsky. Milanov was a complete joke, and incredibly arrogant but do listen, just for the laughs. I think it started at about 8.37.

I think it unlikely that Yulia has been wiping out her own family, but wouldn’t be surprised if Sergei’s role was more complex than we know.

Really surprised that the police officer was sent to the house without special precautions, given that by then they must have had an inkling of who he was or what type of poisoning it was.

Yes, I agree it is unlikely, but bizarre things happen in the world of espionage, and I am puzzled by how the daughter of a traitor (in the eyes of the Russian state), was able to go to and fro so comfortably. Salisbury is a surreal place at the moment.

I think it's very unlikely Yulia was recruited as an assassin! Not impossible, but far more likely that it was done by someone else - easier to recruit an assassin from a huge pool of people than from within a specific family. Also far easier to train someone to kill than it is to train someone to kill their own family. If it was a spy novel, Yulia as poisoner would make a good twist. But it's not a spy novel.

I think that the event is so dramatic and unusual that it can almost be hard to remember that it is real-life and not entertainment. But they are human beings we are discussing, who have lost close family members and who suffered a horrendous (probably painful) attack. Not characters in a thriller.

I heard it raglansleeve. It was jaw-dropping, wasn't it?

I did Raglan.
Spoilers:

Milanov called Sikorsky a Polish Prostitute, accused Ukraine of being responsible for the poisoning and said our government was behaving like Hitler.

Sikorskys response was incredibly dignified.

Yes I heard it too. I actually wish Sarah hadn’t cut him off after the Hitler comment. She should have let him carry on digging a hole.

and this was severe enough for someone to come close to death, surely there is a high risk of serious brain damage?

Yes. The seizures themselves can be damaging and multiple long term effects have been seen with exposure to other agents. Depression, seizures, long term CNS effects and muscle effects.

It’s also possible that Russia wanted to show this new agent off. Apparently it’s very resistant to the usual treatments like atropine etc. Compare this with the announcement last week that they have nukes that can’t be detected or shot down.

It’s a show of strength - they’re making it very clear to the world that they have these capabilities. I’d expect another provocative action soon.

I wonder which f us on this thread are Russian plants, spreading dissent and fake news

Koch it isn’t a new agent. It’s been around for 20 years.

raglansleeve I'm a Russian mumsnet sleeper agent. I was triggered by the phrase "penguin bollard".

Koch it isn’t a new agent. It’s been around for 20 years

By new I mean not the sarin/Vx generation. Have they identified exactly which one it is? Last I heard it was one of the Novichok type agents but no word on which one.

I need to go catch up on the news 😁 my main task this morning has been cleaning the spilt dairy products slowly turning to yoghurt on the underfloor heating (thankfully my real life is far less exciting than dealing with nerve agents ..)

I think that the event is so dramatic and unusual that it can almost be hard to remember that it is real-life and not entertainment.

No-one in Salisbury thinks it's entertainment, I can assure you, least of all me. Sadly it's all too real.

and I am puzzled by how the daughter of a traitor (in the eyes of the Russian state), was able to go to and fro so comfortably.

yeah, this seems odd

raglansleeve check out counterpoint's post on page 2, Thu 08-Mar-18 07:55:42 :D

We were chatting about this last night.... *conspiracy alert ...and decided the cop involved was no ordinary policeman, special branch maybe, must have known who Skripal was and must have been expecting to find something at the house....and he will now make a full recovery, retire from service with (I hope) a very generous pension and move to the countryside and live happily ever after.

And on a side note, am not a prolific twitter fiend but Look who my latest follower is

I'm not sure you do fully recover and go and live a happy life in the countryside, MrsHomeSlice. which is, of course, part of the issue here - the collateral damage is to what are, essentially, civilians. I don't think there is any indication that the policeman was connected to the secret security services.

Obviously, I am very much hoping he will make a full recovery, with no long-term health issues.

What strikes me as strange was the way that both father and daughter, physiologically different as they are and potentially exposed to a different dose at different times, seemed to become extremely ill almost simultaneously and deteriorated rapidly over a short space of time several hours, presumably, after initial contact with the toxin. Even if they were initially exposed around the same time, it seems odd.

Although the father was said to be behaving strangely earlier on, neither looked particularly distressed as they strolled along in the released CCTV footage minutes before they sat down on the bench.

It is understandable why the notion they were both sprayed in the face whilst on the bench arose early on.

The whole scenario makes me wonder if there has been some borrowing of controlled drug delivery techniques on the part of the perpetrators. Sophisticated systems have been developed to allow for the sustained – and even triggered – release of therapeutic drugs, which might also be harnessed for more nefarious purposes.

Finally the CCTV is being questioned. But by Russia

www.spirefm.co.uk/news/local-news/2526330/was-salisburys-cctv-on-at-time-of-nerve-agent-attack/