British Prime Minister Theresa May said Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent "Novichok," allegedly developed by Russia. She claimed this was either "a direct action" by Moscow or the result of a loss of control over "its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent." Speaking to MPs, she even said the cabinet had given Moscow one day to provide a "credible response" to the allegations.
The use of a military-grade secret nerve agent may sound like a James Bond movie and, as with many action dramas, there are some notable inconsistences in the plot that raise questions.
'Novichok' was first disclosed to the public by a Russian chemist named Vil Mirzayanov, who claimed in a 1992 article for Moskovsky Komsomolets daily that Moscow was developing extremely potent fourth-generation chemical weapons. The article was published prior to Russia's signing of the Chemical Weapons Convention, making the timing particularly interesting.
Mirzayanov, who defected to the US several years later, reacted to the British prime minister's accusations in a notable post on Facebook. "[May] said that 'Novichok' has been used in the assassination attempt on Skripal," Mirzayanov wrote. "Its chemical formula has been published only in my book," he said.
His book, which allegedly contains the top-secret formula of the deadly nerve agent, is titled 'State Secrets: An Insider's Chronicle of the Russian Chemical Weapons Program.' Its paperback edition is available on Amazon and sells for just $30. If the formula is genuine, this is probably the first time a whistleblower has provided free access to a method of producing the highly poisonous weapon...read more>>>...
