An assassination unit of Russia’s main military intelligence force – known as GRU – has been targeting U.S. diplomats, their families and other Western officials for at least ten years with a novel acoustic weapon.

According to a series of investigative reports published by The Insider, the GRU Unit 29155 may have used an unknown type of pulse weapon that hits with microwave radiation, which causes terrible headaches, migraines, loss of consciousness or concentration, and ultimately deteriorates the brain and incapacitates the victims.

More to read:
Investigator: The Kremlin has ordered GRU to terrorize Europe

The effects of this attacks are called “Havana Syndrome”, after the largest incident with the suspected use of the mysterious weapon: in 2016, many employees of the U.S. and Canadian consulates in the Cuban capital suddenly felt sick, experiencing severe pressure and pain in their ears, nausea and panic, and getting overwhelmed by strange sounds - either a loud noise or a very high-pitched sound similar to the chirping of a grasshopper.

The consequences of that experience haunted them for months or even years: blurred consciousness, problems with concentration, loss of balance out of the blue, hyperacusis, problems with sleep.

Over time, other American diplomats, officials, military personnel, and CIA agents throughout the world complained of similar experiences.

Medical tests have made it possible in many cases to detect objective evidence of traces of trauma to certain areas of the brain and thereby exclude psychosomatics.

Out of more than 1,000 complaints filed by U.S. government employees since 2014, at least several dozen have been well verified and proven to be caused by external factors. While those complaints came from all over the world including Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and surely Russia, the nature and source of the Havana Syndrome remained a secret.

Andrey Averyanov is the head of Unit 29155.

Until an international team of investigative journalists linked the incidents with the travels and presence of GRU operatives near the victims. Some victims recognized the faces of GRU agents they had seen before succumbing to physical and psychological anomalies, when shown pictures by The Insider.

More to read:
Czech police officially confirm: Russian intelligence was behind Vrbětice explosion

The Insider and its partners - 60 Minutes and Der Spiegel - have uncovered a mountain of evidence in the form of intercepted Russian intelligence documents, travel logs, and call metadata, along with eyewitness testimonies in support for their claim that Moscow has been using a secret, non-lethal weapon against its foes. It also interviewed Patient Zero, Marc Polymeropoulos, a CIA officer who got beamed to brain injuries in Havana.

One of the victims was CIA Director Bill Burns’s then-deputy chief of staff, David S. Cohen, who was hit in Delhi in September 2021, causing Burns to cut short official visits to India and Pakistan.

The journalists found not only the victims – after years of work, they have also identified the GRU agents who are suspected of waging clandestine operations around the world, learned their ranks and roles, mapped out their itineraries, locations and timing.

Some of the GRU agents who are part of Unit 29155.

The stories about the Havana Syndrome and Russia’s secret weapon are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

These investigations prompted U.S. senators to pressure the Joe Biden administration in mid-May to launch a governmental probe.

The U.S. and China, too, are suspected to be in possession of acoustic bazookas, but there are no records of either using this type of weapons in real life. Acoustic guns are sometimes employed by police forces to disperse aggressive mobs and riots.

***
NewsCafe is an independent outlet that cares about big issues. Our sources of income amount to ads and donations from readers. You can support us via PayPal: office[at]rudeana.com or paypal.me/newscafeeu. We promise to reward this gesture with more captivating and important topics.