Skripal's 93-Year-Old Mother Dies In Russia's Yaroslavl - Niece

The mother of former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent Sergei Skripal, Elena, has passed away in a hospital in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, aged 93, Skripal's niece Victoria told Sputnik on Thursday

YAROSLAVL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th January, 2021) The mother of former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent Sergei Skripal, Elena, has passed away in a hospital in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, aged 93, Skripal's niece Victoria told Sputnik on Thursday.

According to the relative, Elena was hospitalized in late December with 25-percent lung damage. Skripal's mother was tested for COVID-19, but the results are not yet known. Victoria herself has been tested positive.

"Grandma died at 5 p.m. [14:00 GMT] today. She was staying at the hospital's intensive care unit," Victoria said.

The niece mentioned being unable to inform her uncle's family about what had happened and asking acquaintances to contact the UK embassy.

"They [the embassy] promised to quickly inform Sergey Victorovich and Yulia that grandma has died," Victoria added.

In 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalized in the UK. London has accused Moscow of trying to poison the ex-spy with the Novichok military-grade nerve agent, while Russian officials have refuted the allegations and stressed that Moscow was denied access to the investigation and the Skripals themselves.