A mysterious illness that has affected Amercan diplomats and spies across the world may be linked to energy weapons used by a Russian intelligence unit.
People with “Havana Syndrome” have reported unexplained symptoms such as migraines, nausea, memory lapses and dizziness.
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.
But the Kremlin on Monday dismissed a report that it may be behind the mystery.
The year-long Insider investigation in collaboration with 60 Minutes and Germany's Der Spiegel also reported that senior members of the squad received awards and promotions for work related to the development of "non-lethal acoustic weapons".
"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."
Investigative reporter Christo Grozev believes a top-secret Russian intelligence unit, known as unit 29155, could be behind mysterious health incidents reported by U.S. officials. pic.twitter.com/xWPpw4YZX0
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 1, 2024
A US intelligence investigation whose findings were released last year found that it was "very unlikely" a foreign adversary was responsible for ailments, first reported by embassy officials in the Cuban capital Havana in 2016.
The Insider report said the first incident of "Havana Syndrome" symptoms may have happened earlier than 2016.
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 affected by the ailment during assignment.
