Russian GRU employees may be involved in cases of “Havana syndrome” among American and Canadian diplomats.
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This is stated in a joint investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel and CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
Havana syndrome is an unofficial illness that can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, and problems with hearing and coordination. Since 2014, such symptoms have been observed in employees of the US and Canadian embassies in different countries.
The media found out that the symptoms occurred during the same periods and in the same places where employees of military unit 29155 of the GRU visited. It is this unit that is associated with the Novichok poisonings of Violinists in the UK, as well as businessman Emelyan Gebrev in Bulgaria.
GRU agents came to those cities where American diplomats soon developed the “Havana syndrome” – headache, dizziness, blurred vision and other symptoms arising after a strange sound.
Two victims saw Russian agents before or immediately after the attack and identified them from photographs. It also turned out that one of the Russian agents received a government order to develop “acoustic weapons.”
Another incident occurred in 2017 in China – doctors recorded “an unknown environmental influence resulting in a traumatic brain injury” in one of the American consulate employees responsible for storing classified information. Investigators note that their information about the Chinese incidents is incomplete.
A similar incident occurred with the wife of an American diplomat in 2021 in Tbilisi. Shortly before the attack, the woman noticed a man from the window of her house, whom she recognized as Albert Averyanov, the son of unit commander Andrei Averyanov. Investigators also talk about possible incidents in 2021 in Belgrade and Hanoi.
In addition to the cases described, journalists reported that the deputy commander of unit 29 155 of the GRU, Ivan Terentyev, received a state order to study “the potential capabilities of non-lethal acoustic weapons during military (combat) operations in the city.”
The authors also add that there is no direct evidence in favor of the involvement of the GRU in the use of “acoustic weapons,” but now “American authorities may rethink their attitude towards the “Havana syndrome.”
In March 2023, US intelligence said it had found no evidence linking any foreign country to the so-called “Havana syndrome”.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.