On Sunday, a collaborative media investigation found that Russian intelligence may have spied on US diplomats, causing hearing and brain damage.
A year ago, US officials did not believe an energy weapon or foreign enemy caused “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs) among embassy staff in China, Europe, or Cuba.
The US military announced on Monday that a senior official who attended a NATO conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, last year had the same symptoms.
The Insider, Der Spiegel, and CBS’s 60 Minutes revealed that Unit 29155 of the Russian GRU’s sonic weapons triggered Havana syndrome following a year-long investigation.
Russia’s military intelligence agency poisoned UK defector Sergei Skripal in 2018.
Diplomats in Havana, Cuba, and overseas, including in Washington, DC, reported nightly piercing sounds in 2016. They had migraines, bloodshot noses, blurred vision, and odd hearing.
“Members of the Kremlin’s infamous military intelligence sabotage squad have been placed at the scene of suspected attacks on overseas US government personnel and their family members, leading victims to question what Washington knows.”
Havana Syndrome depicts Russian hybrid warfare. If Putin were behind the strikes, he would have defeated the US strategically for a decade.
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The Havana sickness rendered other renowned US professionals lifeless or “neutralized,” causing some to retire early or return to the US. American Foreign Service Association: Havana sickness “dramatically hurt” recruiting and diplomat morale in 2022.
The Insider, 60 Minutes, and Der Spiegel revealed on Monday that a senior chef at Russian-themed restaurants in New York City and Washington, DC, was a Russian spy, arrested in 2020, and questioned by an FBI agent suffering from Havana syndrome. Reporters again blamed a GRU electromagnetic weapon for the agent’s illness.
Seven US intelligence agencies released a redacted AHI report in March after a multi-year investigation. It added that “available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents.”
Five agencies said foreign engagement was “very unlikely,” one “unlikely,” and one was silent. Given the information, most thought their assessments were moderately to significantly flawed.
Moscow termed research linking assaults to military intelligence operations “baseless” on Monday.
Antiquated info. According to Kremlin press manager Dmitry Peskov, the media inflated the Havana syndrome, which was initially linked to Russian claims.
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Nobody has published or proven these lies. Everything is media-made.
A top defense officer demonstrated Havana syndrome during a 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, Pentagon spokesman Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday. She did not disclose if the official needed medical care or resigned for privacy.
Due to a Cuba policy shift and concerns that a microwave or other electronic attack caused the Havana sickness, the US closed its Havana immigration office in 2018. After six months without proof linking Russia or others to the assaults, the US review was reopened in August 2023.
A recent Insider report claims the sickness started in Germany in 2016, two years before Havana.
Two years ago, a powerful laser beam at the Frankfurt consulate knocked out a US government employee, increasing attack risk.
In July 2021, the New Yorker reported that two dozen US intelligence, diplomat, and government officials in Austria have Havana syndrome since Joe Biden became president.
US medics and scientists analyzed victim injuries following the attacks.
The Havana Act of 2021 allowed the government, CIA, and others to compensate mission leaders and their families.
The administration is investigating what happened and who’s responsible. Blinken stated, “And in the meantime, to make sure we’re caring for anyone who’s been affected and to protect all of our people to the best of our ability.”
CBS tweeted that the national intelligence director pointed 60 Minutes journalists to the AHI threat assessment.
The network says the FBI and White House will research AHI causes and effects.
The Guardian, AFP, and Reuters contributed.
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