Putin’s Collateral Damage

Skripal. Everyone knows that name now. Sergei Skripal has now become synonymous with Russian assassination and Putin’s reckless pursuit of his enemies on foreign soil.

Sergei Skripal, former Russian military officer and UK double agent, and his daughter Yulia survived the attack on their lives. The nerve agent, Novichok, used by the Russian assassin, failed to take their lives. Other innocent British citizens were not as fortunate.

Unlike a gun or knife, releasing a nerve agent in a public area is not a surgical attack. It is not one done with care, only harming the intended target. Russia used a biological weapon to send a message. That not only is the target expendable but so is anyone else unfortunate enough to come across it. That the lives of British citizens are disposable as long as Putin meets his goals.

This particular attack left one British citizen dead and severely sickened five others who now face life-long health problems. Two of those victims were British police investigators.

When the Kremlin sent their assassin to take out the Skripals, they did so knowing there would be innocent British civilians harmed in the process…they simply did not and do not care. Just like the attack in the family park in Germany, Russia sees all of Europe as potential collateral damage.