Severe headaches, nausea, vertigo: American diplomats and spies have fallen victim to mysterious microwave weapon attacks. An international investigation suggests that Russian secret services may be involved.
29155 is a notorious Russian spy unit which, according to the German magazine “Spiegel" deals with sabotage and murder and is responsible, including for the explosions in military warehouses in Bulgaria. According to information from the Russian edition of DV, employees of this division, which is part of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (former GRU), probably used a secret weapon against American diplomats, which causes the so-called “Havana syndrome". Investigative journalists from "Spiegel", CBS News and "Insider" who have been working on the subject for years come to such conclusions. The syndrome is known by this name because it first attracted attention in the US embassy in Cuba.
The journalists compared the information about the trips of Russian military intelligence agents abroad and found coincidences in time and place with the manifestations of the “Havana Syndrome". The movements of such agents around Europe in 2014 coincide, for example, with a series of strange attacks against employees of the American consulate in Frankfurt am Main. In 2016-2017, American diplomats repeatedly reported strange health problems – and at that exact time a group of agents from 29155 arrived there. In 2021, such agents were also in Georgia, where the wife of an American diplomat, who later recognized one of the agents in a photo, also experienced a severe health crisis. Another such identification of a Russian agent in photographs was also reported from Frankfurt am Main. “Strange Coincidences" of the same type were also registered in Belgrade and Hanoi, the journalistic investigation states.
150 cases of sonic weapon attacks
What exactly is happening to people's health? A former CIA agent told SPIEGEL that the incident with the alleged sonic weapon sent him on sick leave, but he still had symptoms today. The magazine lists the complaints of other sufferers: noise and increased pressure in the ears, pain, a sense of vibration and tension in the head. Other complaints include ringing in the ears, blurred vision, dizziness and cognitive problems. “Spiegel" mentions several cases: “In Guangzhou, China, American diplomat Mark Lenzi and his family were victims. An employee of the US Department of Commerce was injured in a hotel in Shanghai, and in Belgrade – a CIA agent who was nursing her baby at that very moment." Complaints have been received from 1,500 potential victims, but according to government circles in Washington, only 150 cases fit the description of the “Havana Syndrome". Mark Lenzi, by the way, has received government compensation of over one million dollars.
„Spiegel" and other media involved in the investigation claim that a microwave weapon may have been used in the listed cases. Investigative journalists have also obtained an email from one of the key participants in the group, Ivan Terentiev, confirming the study of “the potential capabilities of a non-lethal acoustic weapon in conducting urban warfare".
The German magazine believes that the first attempt was made not in Havana, but in Frankfurt am Main on September 25, 2014. And he adds about the agents of 29155: “The group is probably responsible, including for the poison attack against the Russian agent Sergei Skripal in Great Britain and for the sabotage against ammunition depots in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. Agents of Unit 29155 are heavy duty contractors, trained to conduct delicate operations overseas. According to the assessment of Western security services, they have been waging a stealth war in Europe for years, often traveling on a simple tourist visa and using false identities. Their goal: to weaken the West." The magazine adds that the five of the 29,155 suspected of the Frankfurt assassination attempt were later indicted in Bulgaria for the poisoning of an arms manufacturer – six months after what happened in the German city.
Attacks with directed, pulsating electromagnetic waves
Investigating journalists cite the assessment of Professor David A. Reelman from Stanford University, who claims to have examined some of the victims. According to him, one of several relevant explanations is a "attack with directed, pulsating electromagnetic waves". And according to a 2022 report by the American secret services, on which the professor also worked, three options for impact were possible: through thermoacoustic effects, through strong electromagnetic fields, or through certain frequencies that disrupt the currents in the brain.
For now, the US government has commented with restraint on the results of the journalistic investigation: the effects and possible causes would be investigated as a priority and with the participation of various departments. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today rejected the suspicions of the team of investigative journalists, arguing that there is no evidence for the journalists' claims. They, in turn, call on the US authorities to pay serious attention to circumstantial evidence that Russian military intelligence was involved in the use of acoustic weapons.