Was it such a shit job? They got in, delivered the poison and got out. Maybe they overestimated the lethality of Novichok, maybe not. We know Putin doesn't really care about completely covert operations, he just needs it known how dangerous it is to feck with him and his. There are countless examples long before Skripal. Remember the FSB guys getting caught planting the 5th apartment bomb? They can get away with anything.
Don't know if its already been mentioned on the thread/forum but as its relevant:
A 'suicide' of another Putin critic, within days of the Salisbury poisonings, has only just this month been ruled as homicide.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56695489
And today there's uproar in Czech Republic about new evidence showing a 2014 bombing of military warehouses being caused by the GRU/FSB/KGB. Suspects being the same two accused of the Salisbury poisons.
https://www.politico.eu/article/cze...s-alleging-kremlin-role-in-deadly-2014-blast/