The UK government said on Tuesday that cleanup work was underway in Salisbury to decontaminate potentially affected sites. A total of nine sites, three of which are in the city center, have been identified as requiring some level of specialist cleaning.
"Our clean-up work, while precautionary, must be thorough to ensure the sites are safe before being released. The police station site, ambulance stations at Amesbury and Salisbury, and the Maltings Park will be returned to public use within two months. The release of other sites will follow," David Lawrence said.
The nine sites which identified as requiring some level of specialist cleaning are The Maltings, Zizzi, the Ashley Wood compound, the Mill pub, two areas of Bourne Hill, the Salisbury ambulance station, the Amesbury ambulance station, the home of the police officer who became unwell following the incident, and Skripal's home, according to Lawrence.
In March, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in the UK city of Salisbury. The United Kingdom promptly accused Russia of orchestrating the attack with what UK experts claimed was the A234 nerve agent. Soon after the incident, London announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomatic workers. Over 25 countries have since expelled Russian diplomats "in solidarity" with London.
READ MORE: Nerve Agent Used to Poison Skripals Was Delivered ‘in a Liquid Form’ – Reports
Russia has denied having any role in the poisoning, pointing to the lack of evidence provided by London to substantiate its accusations. Russia also offered its assistance in the investigation. However, Moscow's request for samples of the chemical substance used to poison the Skripals was rejected.