I'm still on the fence about how far into the conspiracy theory land I'd go – but if you imagine that this nerve agent though, it could kill, in these instances, isn't meant to kill, but rather, to show force, and penetration. A "see what we could do" – with the understanding that they could use something more subtle than Novichok if they wanted to.
Just before the Russian elections and the World Cup we have the first Novichok "attack". UK gov demands boycott of the world cup and all the news focus on Vlad "the Killer" Putin.
Russia starts doing well on the world cup, Sweden changes its mind and won't boycott it, trump-putin meeting scheduled and.... Novichok again.
It should be easy to see the BS of this narrative but the most amazing thing is that it works. People believe in it, demonize Russia and lose focus that the UK is miserably failing in the Brexit negotiations.
I hope Russia does not win the World Cup because I'm sure we would see another "attack" directly ordered by Vlad The Terrible.
Perhaps it could be helpful to fly a drone over Red Square, dispersing a spray with microdots that read: "This could have been Novichok, Tovarich. Stop it, already.".
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/03/governments-decree-trut...