UK says Russia 'highly likely' behind ex-spy poisoning

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - It is “highly likely” that Russia is behind the attempted murder of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, said British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday.

“It is now clear that Mr. Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia,” specifically from the Novichok group, May said.

She said the U.K. government has decided it is “highly likely” that Russia was responsible for the attack.

"That is because of what was used, and because of Russia’s history of involvement in state-sponsored attacks of this kind," she added.

Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were admitted to hospital after being found unconscious on a bench on Sunday, March 4, in the southern English city of Salisbury.

Emergency services said in an initial statement that they believed the father and daughter had been exposed to an unknown substance.

The incident has been compared to the fate of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after drinking radioactive tea. Former KGB bodyguards identified as suspects in the murder denied any involvement.