The joint investigation of "60 Minutes", "Insider" and "Der Spiegel" convincingly shows that for a decade the Kremlin has waged a sustained campaign aimed directly at US government personnel both in the US and internationally, with the likely goal of physically disabling US government personnel.
This is stated in the daily analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The investigation, which the outlets published on March 31, shows that the infamous Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), division 29155 (the same division whose operatives tried to kill Sergei Skripal with the nerve agent "Novichok" in the UK in 2018), could use non-lethal directed energy or acoustic weapons to target a large number of US government officials, each of whom reported experiencing an "anomalous health incident" (also called "Havana syndrome") of varying severity between 2014 and as late as 2023
The investigation cites intercepted Russian intelligence documents, travel logs, call metadata and eyewitness accounts that say operatives from GRU Unit 29155 were at many of the locations where US officials experienced the "Havana syndrome" ;, shortly before or during each attack.
The investigation suggests that GRU operatives conducted a targeted energy attack against an FBI agent in Florida several months after the agent interviewed detained undercover GRU officer Vitaly Kovalev sometime between June and December 2020.
Other US government officials have claimed to have been attacked by directed energy weapons while in the US, including in Washington.
Retired CIA officer Mark Polimeropolous, who experienced Havana syndrome during his stay in Moscow in December 2017 and is ending his career as head of operations at the CIA's Europe and Eurasia Mission Center, says that if if the investigation's attribution of the attacks to Russia's GRU is true, the attacks fit the pattern of the Kremlin "seeking retribution for events" it says the United States is responsible for.
Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that an unnamed senior Defense Department official at the July 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius experienced symptoms similar to other anomalous health incidents.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (FSI) has made increasing efforts to falsely implicate Ukraine in the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, while denying responsibility or involvement of the "Islamic State" (IS) in the attack.
On April 1, the SVR falsely claimed that the United States was trying to cover up Ukraine's alleged responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attack, including by blaming the attack on the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, the Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K).
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The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) recently asked Ukrainian authorities to arrest and extradite individuals allegedly involved in the Crocus City Hall attack and a wider range of alleged "terrorist" attacks in Russia.
ISW continues to assess with a high degree of confidence that the Islamic State carried out the Crocus City Hall attack and has yet to see any independent reports or evidence to suggest that an actor other than the Islamic State was responsible for the attack or assisted it.
The Kremlin likely intends to capitalize on domestic fear and anger over the attack and hopes that the perception of Ukrainian and Western involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack and wider alleged "terrorist" attacks in Russia will increase Russian domestic support for the war in Ukraine.
On April 1 "Reuters" reported that Iran had warned Russia of a possible "major terrorist operation" on an unspecified date before the attack in the "Crocus" hall, according to "three sources familiar with the matter".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and the Russian president's representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, denied reports that Iran had warned Russia of a terrorist attack.
On April 1, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was working to remove the Taliban's status as a designated terrorist organization in Russia, and announced that Russia had invited the Taliban to participate in the May 14-19 Russian-Islamic World Forum in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan.
The Kremlin's hyper-fixation on blaming the attack on Ukraine, as opposed to dealing with very real and necessary terrorist threats, is likely to continue to pose a long-term threat to Russia's security.
Following the attack on Crocus City Hall, the Russian authorities are taking measures to further combat migrant communities in Russia. On April 1, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said it was preparing a bill that would introduce various measures to tighten Russia's migration policy.
The proposed bill includes requirements for mandatory fingerprinting and photography of all foreigners entering Russia; creation of a government system containing the digital profiles of foreigners; requirements that all foreigners receive a new identity document confirming their right to live and work in Russia; reducing the limits on the length of temporary stay of foreigners in Russia from 90 days every six months to 90 days a year; and authorizations for the courts and some federal executive agencies outside the courts to deport aliens who "pose a security threat".
MoI proposals to tighten the government's tracking and monitoring of migrants in Russia are also likely to make it easier for authorities to target and coerce migrants into the Russian military as part of ongoing cryptomobilization efforts, as such efforts will create a database of personal information that makes migrant communities more immediately identifiable.
The Kremlin is taking steps to directly strengthen its control over state bodies that oversee migration policy. On April 1, the Russian publication "Vedomosti" reported that sources close to the administration of the Russian president and the government have said that the Russian authorities are considering the creation of a new department to oversee interethnic and migration policy, and that this department will report directly to the Russian president.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response that there are no official decisions yet on the creation of a department for inter-ethnic and migration policy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized during his annual speech "Direct Line" in December 2023 that Russia needs a "special body, not just the Ministry of Internal Affairs," to deal with Russia's migration problems.