Yulia Skripal filmed her first public statement with a deep red scar on her neck - and it hints at her 'extremely painful' recovery

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Yulia Skripal made her first filmed public statement with a deep red scar on her neck.

• The daughter of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal has released her first public statement since collapsing from nerve agent poisoning.
• Yulia Skripal described her recovery from the attack "extremely painful."
• She also revealed a deep red scar on her neck she hadn't had before.
• People think it's a result of a tracheotomy, a surgical procedure to help patients breathe.

Yulia Skripal filmed her first public statement since being poisoned by nerve agent with a deep red scar on her neck, which gives some clues about what she described as her "extremely painful" treatment and recovery.

Skripal, the daughter of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal spoke to Reuters on Wednesday after being discharged from hospital for about seven weeks.

She collapsed alongside her father on March 4 in Salisbury, England, after the nerve agent was used on them, and spent the next 20 days in a coma.

Skripal described her recovery from the attack as "slow and extremely painful" while also revealing a deep red scar on her neck.

She did not have the scar before her collapse, as can be seen in previous photos of her:

Sky News

A still from an undated video of Yulia Skripal, which appeared on Sky News.

The scar most likely comes from her treatment for the poisoning.

News outlets, including the BBC and Telegraph, have described it as a result of a tracheotomy, a surgical procedure which opens a hole in a person's windpipe to help them breathe.

Skripal did not share specifics of her treatment, but described it as "invasive, painful, and depressing."

Sergei Skripal, 66, has recovered more slowly than his daughter, but is also out of hospital. His condition was upgraded from critical condition on April 6, and he was released from hospital last week.

He has yet to be seen in public since the attack.

AP/BBC Newsnight

A composite image of Sergei Skripal and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Britain has

Britain has accused Russia of being behind the attack, and named a secretive government lab in southwestern Russia as the source of the poison used on the Skripals. The Kremlin has denied all responsibility.

The Russian Embassy said it was "glad to have seen Yulia Skripal alive and well," but suggested that Britain was holding Skripal "against her own will" and that the spy's daughter had been "speaking under pressure."

Skripal on Wednesday said she was "grateful" for an offer of help from the Russian embassy, but said: "At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services."