Russian assassination unit linked to “Havana Syndrome” brain injuries affecting U.S. officials

A joint media investigation into “Havana Syndrome,” mysterious brain injuries that have affected U.S. diplomats and government officials since 2016, has found evidence that a Russian military assassination unit may be responsible.

Why it matters: CBS’ Scott Pelley noted on “60 Minutes” that the findings from its five-year-probe with The Insider and Der Spiegel that Russia’s GRU Unit 29155 may be behind the neurological symptoms marked the first evidence linking a foreign adversary to the phenomenon.

The big picture: “Havana syndrome” symptoms can include extreme headaches, dizziness, nausea and ear pain.

• The condition is known as “Havana syndrome” because the reports of American officials falling ill were first documented at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba’s capital in late 2016.

Yes, but: New evidence suggests “there were likely attacks two years earlier in Frankfurt, Germany, when a U.S. government employee stationed at the consulate there was knocked unconscious by something akin to a strong energy beam,” per The Insider.

• “The victim was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, and was also able to identify a Geneva-based Unit 29155 operative,” the Russia-focused news outlet added Sunday.

Zoom in: Greg Edgreen, a recently retired Army lieutenant colonel who ran the Defense Intelligence Agency investigation into “Havana syndrome” from 2021 to 2023, told Pelley it’s his personal opinion that the U.S. is being attacked by Putin’s regime.

• Edgreen noted the top 5%-10% of performing officers across the agency had been impacted.
• “And consistently there was a Russia nexus,” said Edgreen, speaking publicly for the first time on the matter in Sunday’s show. “There was some angle where they had worked against Russia, focused on Russia, and done extremely well.”

The intrigue: Two major National Institutes of Health studies out this month examining the conditions of over 80 government employees and family members in locations including the U.S., Cuba, China and Austria, who experienced “anomalous health incidents” found no consistent evidence of brain injury.

• David Relman, a Stanford University scientist who’s led led previous research into the condition, took issue with the studies, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, in an accompanying editorial.

• He noted two previous studies he was involved in were “found the cases with abrupt-onset, location-dependent sensory phenomena to be unlike to be unlike any disorder reported in the neurological or general medical literature, and potentially caused by an external mechanism.”

What they’re saying: When asked for comment, representatives for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence directed Axios to the portion of the Annual Threat Assessment, published in February, which addresses “Anomalous Health Incidents.”

• That states that the office is closely examining AHIs and notes that most intelligence “agencies have concluded that it is very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible” for the condition.
• The agencies “have varying confidence levels because we still have gaps given the challenges collecting on foreign adversaries,” the report notes.
• Representatives for the FBI, White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Axios’ requests for comment.

Editor’s note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.