Vladimir Putin jokes about enemies ‘swallowing poison’ as UK cops investigate Kremlin links to nerve agent attack on Russian spy Sergei Skripal
VLADIMIR Putin joked darkly about his enemies "swallowing poison" last night — as a Russian spy and his daughter lie in comas after a nerve agent attack in Wiltshire.
Anti-terror cops and spy agencies are believed to be probing whether the Kremlin ordered a hit using deadly sarin — which is only produced in a handful of labs in the world.
Colonel Sergei Skripal, 66, and daughter Yulia, 33, are critically ill after they were poisoned with a lethal substance in an attack being treated as attempted murder.
Ex-KGB hardman Putin — who has defended the Syrian regime's use of sarin on civilians — made a thinly veiled reference to the Salisbury horror on a visit to a bakery in Russia.
He complained about Western sanctions as "illegitimate and unfair" efforts to contain Russia, warning: "We will win in the long run."
And he added: "Those who serve us with poison will eventually swallow it and poison themselves."
What we know so far:
- Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
- Police say they were deliberately targeted with a rare nerve agent
- The first Wiltshire Police officer on the scene is also ill in hospital - but hopes were raised for his recovery now he is awake and talking
- A blonde woman with a red handbag is being hunted after being caught on CCTV minutes before the hit
- Spooks believe the Russians may have had their drinks spiked in a pub or a Zizzi's restaurant
- Skripal was poisoned by a very rare nerve agent which only a few laboratories in the world could have produced
- It was claimed Yulia Skripal may have been poisoned after calling for Putin to be jailed on Facebook
- Boris Johnson urged royals to boycott the Russian World Cup in retaliation
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the attack on Skripal, a double agent who was jailed in Russia and branded a traitor for passing secrets to MI6.
He and Yulia were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury after visiting a Zizzi pizza restaurant and a nearby pub.
A policeman who was first on the scene to help is also seriously ill in hospital after being exposed to the same toxin.
Scotland Yard confirmed scientists have identified the nerve agent used in the assassination attempt, although they refused to give more details.
Security experts say it bore the hallmarks of a sarin attack — and say that points the finger at Putin.
One of the few facilities in the world capable of making sarin is the Yasenevo lab, run by Russia’s SVR spy service on Moscow’s outskirts.
The fast-acting toxin can be sprayed into a victim’s face or dripped into food or water. A pinhead-sized droplet can kill.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, ex-commander of the Army’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, said: “All the circumstances point in the direction of sarin.
“It’s very toxic and the symptoms displayed tally with its effects.”
He said it required huge resources to make sarin, which is why it is usually only state-produced.
What is toxic nerve agent?
By John Lucas
LETHAL nerve agents can be absorbed by touch and by breathing, or food and drink can be spiked.
Developed by military scientists, they include sarin and VX.
North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un’s half-brother was killed last year after being exposed to VX.
Symptoms include respiratory arrest and heart failure but the risk to the wider public from lingering small doses is low.
Last night cops were said to be probing whether Yulia, visiting her father from Russia, unwittingly brought the nerve agent with her.
A source told The Times she had brought a ";gift from friends" and may have opened it in front of him.
The lives of ex-Colonel Skripal and daughter Yulia may yet be saved by their closeness to government lab Porton Down, which is just outside Salisbury.
It stockpiles atropine, an antidote for nerve agents.
Mr de Bretton-Gordon said the assassin may have targeted Skripal alone — with Yulia contaminated as she went to help her dad when he collapsed.
In 1994 the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult did manage to carry out a sarin attack in Japan, killing 12.
But Mr de Bretton-Gordon said: “The Tokyo attackers took two years to make a just litre of the stuff.
"You don’t just knock up sarin in your shed. You need a Porton Down-style facility to make it, you need state-sponsored facilities.
“The use of a nerve agent points firmly to a professional.”
Sarin was used by Syrian dictator President Assad, killing more than 1,500 rebels in 2013.
It was also used by Saddam Hussein to kill 5,000 Kurds in Halabja, Iraq in 1988.
THE IMMEDIATE SIGNS A PERSON HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO SARIN GAS
Sarin is a clear and colourless gas, so people may not know they have been exposed.
Those exposed to a low or medium dose of sarin gas by breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water or touching a contaminated surface may experience symptoms within seconds, according to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention in the US (CDC).
In others it may take hours for symptoms to appear.
hose who have been exposed may experience:
- runny nose
- watery eyes
- small pupils
- eye pain
- blurred vision
- drooling and excessive sweating
- a cough
- tightness in the chest
- rapid breathing
- diarrhoea
- nausea and vomiting
- weeing more often
- confusion
- drowsiness
- weakness
- headache
- slow or fast heart rate
- low or high blood pressure
Exposure to larger amounts of the nerve agent can have much more harmful, if not fatal, effects.
People may experience:
- loss of consciousness
- convulsions
- paralysis
- respiratory failure leading to death
Skripal was jailed in Moscow in 2006 for passing secrets to MI6. But he was freed in aspy swap in 2010 and came to the UK to retire in Salisbury.
But locals yesterday claimed he may still have been working for MI6.
Skripal had regular meetings with a well-dressed Englishman in Salisbury’s Cote Brasserie restaurant and spoke about “business” trips to Poland.
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A restaurant source said the pair always sat at the same table and switched seamlessly between English and Russian.
She added: “The Englishman always wore a tweed suit and they changed between Russian and English as they spoke.”
Another source added: “This English guy could have been his handler.”
Despite evidence of Kremlin involvement, ministers will not make a direct accusation against President Putin until they can be sure of the facts.
Russia continues to deny any involvement.
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