Why the Kremlin likes using poison

As 66-year-old former Russian Military Intelligence Colonel, Sergei Skripal, and a companion lie critically ill in a Salisbury hospital. The familiar question is asked: is this another Russian assassination attempt?

We don’t yet know if Col. Skripal was deliberately targeted, or by whom – the cause of his illness may be entirely innocent – but either way, poisoning appears to be the weapon of choice for Russian-sponsored murders in the UK. Why is that?

Poisons are versatile and flexible. They suit Russia’s newly redeveloped forms of aggressive, covert warfare. They can be ambiguous. A shooting leaves intent and very possibly evidence, but poisoning may leave no trace. How many people has the Russian state killed in the UK in recent years? No one is quite sure, but rumours abound. How better to create an air of menace around the Kremlin. Was Col. Skripal poisoned? Maybe, maybe not. Was 44-year-old Russian whistleblower Alexander Perepilichnyy murdered in Surry in 2012? What about a dozen other killings which have taken place? We don’t know and for whatever reason, the police and government have appeared disinclined to investigate.