Comment by myrmidon

People are speculating about whether this was intentional, and, if so, who is to blame.

How is that "Orwellian"?

Russia has quite the recent history of poisoning civilians both native and foreign (do you dispute that?). Those acts are already a significant step above simple sabotage, so why would it be Orwellian to consider them a possible perpetrator?

In my view, common current western view of Russia is everything but:

Orwellian would be a strong, emotional public expressions of hate (with frequently switching target).

Current western view (can only really talk about central Europe) is more of a muted mix of disappointment, sadness and disgust about what Russia did/does in the Ukraine...