Russian Agent May Have Limited Mental Capacity After Nerve Attack

Police officers prepare equipment as inspectors from the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) begin work at the scene of the nerve agent attack on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal, in Salisbury, Britain March 21, 2018. Reuters/Peter Nicholls

LONDON/BRUSSELS—A military-grade nerve toxin attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter may have left them with compromised mental capacity and it is unclear whether they will recover, a British judge said on Thursday.

Britain has said Russia used a Soviet-era chemical weapon called Novichok to attack Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the first known offensive use of such a weapon on European soil since World War Two. Russia has denied any involvement.