Short opinion piece in today's New York Times:
Pinned
Serge Schmemann
Editorial Board Member
A joint investigation by Russian, American and German reporters has produced evidence that is chilling and plausible, albeit not conclusive, that Havana syndrome — painful and debilitating medical episodes experienced by scores of American diplomats and intelligence officers over the past decade — is the work of a special Russian spy unit dedicated to assassination and mayhem.
The reporting by
The Insider, a Russia-focused investigative news outlet, in collaboration with the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel and CBS’s “
60 Minutes,” sharply challenges earlier assertions by U.S. intelligence agencies that what they called anomalous health incidents were very unlikely to be the work of a foreign power.
In typical cases, victims reported sudden and acute pain, usually to one side of the head, followed by prolonged bouts of headaches and dizziness. The Biden administration and Congress have nonetheless enacted legislation providing compensation to victims, some of whom have been unable to continue work.
Drawing on interviews with victims and an impressive mastery of online snooping, the investigative reporters found various links between the attacks and Unit 29155, a division of the Russian military intelligence agency G.R.U., known to U.S. intelligence agencies for conducting lethal operations and sabotage the world over. Operatives of Unit 29155 were placed at sites of several anomalous health incidents; more damningly, the reporters discovered that senior members of the unit had received awards for work on “nonlethal acoustic weapons,” which in Russia refers to directed-energy devices based on sound or radio frequencies.
One of the key pieces in the puzzle was supplied by the wife of an official at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, who was struck with acute pain in her head while doing laundry at home. Spotting a car on the house’s security camera, she managed to get to the street in time to see a tall, thin man and to photograph his car. She subsequently identified a photograph of Albert Averyanov, an operative of Unit 29155 and the son of the founding commander of the unit, Gen. Andrei Averyanov.
The pattern of the attacks suggested the targeted American intelligence officers and diplomats were working or had worked on Russia matters, including C.I.A. officers who worked with Ukraine.
The full report of The Insider is a gripping read. The question it leaves unanswered is whether the U.S. government knew what the reporters discovered and, if so, whether the government was hiding it. Either way, the victims, many still suffering, deserve a thorough investigation.