A mystery illness reported by some U.S. officials that is causing acute ringing in the ears followed by piercing pain, vertigo, nausea and lasting cognitive problems may have a Russian link, according to a CBS News “60 Minutes” report. The condition, known as Havana syndrome, is now linked to a covert Russian intelligence unit in Tbilisi, Georgia, called Unit 29155.
A five-year-long investigation by CBS’ “60 Minutes,” The Insider and Germany’s Der Spiegel has traced the source of the attacks to Unit 29155. According to the report, the group is comprised of assassins and saboteurs who use counter surveillance, poison and other advanced technology on their enemies.
Journalist Christo Grozev, who identified those behind the 2020 poisoning of the late Alexei Navalny, said he found an email linking the Russian intelligence unit to a request from the Russian government for “potential capabilities of non-lethal acoustic weapons.”
Grozev said email login data places the son of a 29155 unit commander in Tbilisi at the time of suspected attacks.
Experts say the potential weapon is untraceable and uses microwave technology to emit a frequency capable of damaging soft tissue in the brain. Victims of the alleged attacks include Central Intelligence Agency officials, Federal Bureau of Investigation officials, White House officials, and, in some instances, their spouses and children.
One U.S. official reported that he heard a device above his child’s crib and has since experienced persistent symptoms, such as sensitivity to light.
In total, there are about 1,000 reports of Havana Syndrome cases. However, the U.S. State Department contends that there is no concrete evidence implicating Russia, and the CIA has said the syndrome was “unlikely the efforts of a foreign adversary.”
An American military investigator, Greg Edgreen, who handled classified documents as part of the Department of Defense’s investigation, told “60 Minutes” that the incidents had some striking similarities.
“Consistently, there was a Russia nexus,” Edgreen said. “There was some angle where they had worked against Russia, focused on Russia and done extremely well.”
Edgreen said Russia’s motivation may be to disrupt U.S. diplomatic relations. For instance, U.S. officials said they were targeted in Vietnam ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit in 2021.
Russia has a friendly relationship with Vietnam and reportedly gave the country technology capable of “acoustic attacks.” There were 11 victims in total, some of whom were flown out of the country. Two of the victims were from the American Embassy in Hanoi, while nine others were part of the U.S. Defense Department’s advance team preparing for the vice president’s visit.
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