it was putin strikes again, he s tried to poison his opponents. including in the united kingdom. he s mounted other assassinations and parks in munich and the rest. this is right out of the vladimir putin playbook, but nonetheless, it s a bold, strident move. i think i understand what ambassador mcfaul is saying, it seems like a show of weakness, but at the same time, i think the alternative was worse for vladimir putin. i think he needed to send a message to all of the other security clicks and oligarchs and other power factions within the still in charge, their source of funding and protection is still viable and i think that s what he was after if indeed this news turns out to be