Skripal affair
Vil Mirzayanov is a former Russian chemist who allegedly worked on the development of 'Novichok'. He fled to the USA in the 1990s after blowing the whistle on Russian chemical weapons. Commenting on the report that Yulia Skripal has been released from hospital, Mirzayanov explained that Novichok is "very unstable and vulnerable to water".

Since the weather in England on March 4, the day Skripals were allegedly poisoned, was humid and foggy, the chemical's potency was greatly reduced. "Only an idiot would've used this substance in humid conditions," he declared.

It should be noted that Mirzayanov isn't exactly an impartial commentator on the Skripal affair. Shortly after the incident last month, he described the event as a "brazen Putin attack".
Vil Mirzayanov
Vil Mirzayanov
Yet there is no reason to doubt Mirzanayov's claim about the effects of water on 'Novichok'. As a result, the Skripal story, in its latest incarnation, now includes the highly implausible idea that the 'Russian agents' who used the 'made only in Russia' nerve agent on the Skripals were so clueless that they were unaware of the basic properties of the toxin and how to use it effectively.