Investigation Links Russian Hit Squad to US Officials' 'Havana Syndrome'

A Russian intelligence unit that specializes in assassinations may be behind "Havana syndrome," a mysterious condition that afflicted U.S. diplomats, according to a report.

A joint investigation by CBS’s 60 Minutes, along with Der Spiegel and The Insider, revealed links between Russia’s GRU Unit 29155 and suspected attacks on U.S. government officials both in the United States and abroad.

Symptoms of Havana syndrome—which the U.S. government terms "anomalous health incidents," or AHI— include sudden headaches, vertigo, ringing in the ears, nausea, and in some cases blindness or hearing loss. The syndrome was named after U.S. officials in the Cuban capital first reported experiencing these symptoms in late 2016.

The investigation placed suspected Russian agents in the same locations as U.S. officials when they began experiencing symptoms. Journalist Christo Grozev of The Insider also uncovered a Russian document showing a Unit 29155 officer performed work focused on "potential capabilities of non-lethal acoustic weapons," a discovery Grozev called the "closest to a receipt you can have for this."

A 2020 report by the National Academy of Sciences suggested Havana syndrome could have been caused by directed microwave energy, raising the possibility the U.S. officials were targeted by an energy weapon.

Retired Army lieutenant colonel Greg Edgreen, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency’s investigation of Havana syndrome until 2023, told 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley that he believes Russia is behind the attacks.

"This was happening to our top 5 percent, 10 percent performing officers across the Defense Intelligence Agency," Edgreen said. "And consistently there was a Russia nexus. There was some angle where they had worked against Russia, focused on Russia, and done extremely well."

More than 1,000 cases of Havana syndrome among U.S. government officials have been documented in 96 different countries. U.S. intelligence has maintained that it is unlikely that a foreign actor is responsible for the symptoms.

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