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Havana Syndrome: Russia military unit linked to brain injuries of Western diplomats

April 2, 2024 — 

London: The mysterious “Havana syndrome” ailment that has afflicted US diplomats and spies across the world may be linked to energy weapons wielded by members of a Russian military intelligence sabotage unit, the Insider media group reported.

A US intelligence investigation whose findings were released last year found that it was “very unlikely” a foreign adversary was responsible for the ailment, first reported by US embassy officials in the Cuban capital Havana in 2016.

A woman interviewed by 60 Minutes (US), who says she was attacked by an energy weapon while stationed in Tbilisi, Georgia. She later had metal plates implanted in her head after her ears were permanently damaged.CREDIT:60 MINUTES (US)

But Insider, a Russia-focused investigative media group based in Riga, Latvia reported that members of a Russian military intelligence (GRU) unit known as 29155 had been placed at the scene of reported health incidents involving US personnel.

The year-long Insider investigation in collaboration with 60 Minutes (US) and Germany’s Der Spiegel also reported that senior members of Unit 29155 received awards and promotions for work related to the development of “non-lethal acoustic weapons”.

Symptoms of the ailment have included migraines, nausea, memory lapses and dizziness.

The Kremlin on Monday dismissed a report that Russian military intelligence may be behind the mysterious “Havana syndrome” ailment that has afflicted US diplomats and spies globally.


NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, speaks with United States President Joe Biden during a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in July 12, 2023. CREDIT:AP

“This is not a new topic at all; for many years the topic of the so-called ‘Havana Syndrome’ has been exaggerated in the press, and from the very beginning it was linked to accusations against the Russian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the report.

“But no one has ever published or expressed any convincing evidence of these unfounded accusations anywhere,” Peskov said. “Therefore, all this is nothing more than baseless, unfounded accusations by the media.”

The Insider report said the first incident of “Havana Syndrome” symptoms may have happened earlier than 2016.


The United States Embassy in Havana, Cuba. The Pentagon confirms that a senior Defence Department official who attended last years’ NATO summit in Lithuania had symptoms similar to those reported by US officials who have experienced “Havana syndrome.”CREDIT:AP

It said “there were likely attacks two years earlier in Frankfurt, Germany, when a US government employee stationed at the consulate there was knocked unconscious by something akin to a strong energy beam”.

US Congress passed the Havana Act in 2021 authorising the State Department, CIA and other US government agencies to provide payments to staff and their families who have been affected by the ailment during assignment.

A senior defence department official who attended last year’s NATO summit at Vilnius, Lithuania, had symptoms similar to those reported by US officials who have experienced “Havana syndrome,” the Pentagon confirmed Monday.


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“I can confirm that a senior DOD official experienced symptoms similar to those reported in anomalous health incidents,” deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday.

Singh referred questions on whether Russia had a role to the intelligence community, which is still investigating the matter.

The official, who was not identified, was not part of Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s official travelling delegation to Vilnius, Singh said, but was there “separately, attending meetings that were part of the NATO summit.”

Reuters

Havana Syndrome Traces and GRU Agents in Tbilisi: The Insider, Spiegel, CBS Investigations

• JAMnews

• Tbilisi

02.04.2024   

Russian outlet The Insider, American broadcaster CBS, and German outlet Spiegel have jointly released an investigation revealing that operatives from the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU, conducted acoustic attacks on US embassy staff, leading to the onset of the so-called “Havana Syndrome.”

Investigative journalists, including Christo Grozev, known for his work on the poisoning case of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, delved into the causes behind unexplained symptoms experienced by American diplomats worldwide at different times. Affected individuals reported symptoms such as noise and pain in the ears, sensations of vibration and pressure in the head, and dizziness. It was found that the syndrome coincided with the presence of GRU Unit 29155 officers in these locations.

One section of the investigation focuses on Tbilisi. In 2021, GRU agents, father and son Averianov, were present in the Georgian capital. Their visit proved fatal for the wife of a US embassy staff member – despite years of treatment and surgical intervention, the woman was unable to return to a normal life.

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Why investigate this angle?

The investigation was sparked by a decade-long series of strange incidents involving American diplomats, officials, and intelligence personnel worldwide. They describe sudden episodes akin to paralysis, rendering them incapacitated for life: unable to focus, experiencing balance issues, severe migraines, and constant ringing in the ears.

These inexplicable symptoms, accompanying what’s known as the “Havana Syndrome,” have afflicted US government officials and their families globally. Dubbed “Havana” because it was first reported by US embassy staff in Havana in 2016, several employees experienced nausea, panic attacks, and strange noises in their ears. Many still suffer from disorientation, concentration problems, balance issues, and insomnia.

However, the first cases of the “Havana Syndrome,” as the investigation’s authors note, were documented in 2014. One recent case occurred in 2023 during the NATO summit in Vilnius, where a senior US Defense Department official experienced symptoms and sought medical assistance, as reported by CBS News.

Over this time, the US authorities received around 1,500 complaints from potential victims worldwide.

In 2023, US intelligence stated they found no evidence linking Russia or other countries to the “Havana Syndrome” incidents.

However, the investigative authors claim to have found Russian traces in these cases.

They assert a connection between the “Havana Syndrome” and the movement of GRU agents.

For instance, Americans in Frankfurt as far back as 2014 spotted suspected GRU agents, possibly linked to the poisoning of the Skripals in 2018.

One of the main segments of the investigation focuses on Tbilisi.

Tbilisi, 2021

Joy (name changed) arrived in Georgia in February 2020 with her diplomat husband and son.

The family settled on a quiet street in Tbilisi, not far from the US embassy. Joy’s husband worked at the US embassy in Georgia, while she worked as a doctor at one of the private American clinics.

On September 7, 2021, Joy was waiting for her son to return from school. As she pulled out freshly laundered clothes from the washing machine, she turned to the window and suddenly felt something akin to a powerful sound wave. She began to experience a terrible headache. Joy called her husband, who soon arrived from the embassy accompanied by security.

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The woman recalls that while waiting for her husband, she looked out onto the street and noticed a strange car she had never seen before, which she then photographed. Near the car, she saw a tall, slim blond man accompanied by a woman. They were dressed impeccably, as if attending a wedding or theater. When the man noticed he was being photographed, he quickly got into the car.

Since that day, Joy has suffered from severe migraines every day (something she never experienced before).

She explains that her consciousness feels foggy, making it difficult for her to navigate stairs and causing coordination issues while moving. She began experiencing problems with her vestibular system, often hearing ringing in her ears, and developing hearing problems. The dizziness is so severe that sometimes it’s hard for her to turn over in bed. Her hearing has become hypersensitive, even the sound of an air conditioner feels like the roar of a jet engine.

At Johns Hopkins University, Joy was diagnosed with bilateral semicircular canal dehiscence, a very rare condition. It could have been congenital, but in that case, the disease would have been detected long ago. It could also have been a result of trauma, but Joy hadn’t experienced any. She underwent surgery: metal plates were placed on both sides of her skull. This alleviates the symptoms but doesn’t completely eliminate them.

American investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of her illness.

However, The Insider noticed a strange coincidence: at the time this incident occurred with Joy, operatives from GRU Unit 29155 were in Georgia.

On September 30, 2021, the commander of Unit 29155, General Andrey Averyanov, went on a business trip. It was revealed by journalists that on the same day, his son Albert Averyanov arrived from Moscow. Albert had been brought into his father’s department a few years ago. Despite his young age (he was 21 at the time), Albert had already gained significant experience—his father had been “training” him unofficially in various matters during his studies at MGU in 2017-2018.

Journalists discovered that on September 30, 2021, GRU agents first flew from Moscow to Tashkent, and from there to Tbilisi.

When Joy was shown a photo of Albert Averyanov, she immediately recognized him:

“When I saw this photo, I immediately had a spontaneous reaction, I felt very bad. I can’t be 100 percent sure it’s the same person, but I can say for sure that he looks very much like him. To this day, when I look at it, I have the same intuitive reaction.”

Albert Averyanov himself declined to comment to The Insider.