US not moved by report blaming Russia for ‘Havana Syndrome’

Washington — The United States is backing a year-old intelligence assessment that health problems affecting, and in some cases incapacitating, hundreds of American personnel around the world are not the result of a weapon wielded by a U.S. adversary.

The White House, the Pentagon and the State Department Monday stood by a March 2023 report by the National Intelligence Council that concluded it is “very unlikely” the adverse symptoms known as Havana Syndrome were caused by enemy operatives, despite a new investigation that suggests a notorious Russian intelligence unit may be to blame.

“The intelligence community has not concluded that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, defending the conclusions of the 2023 assessment.

But Jean-Pierre also said the White House has not stopped looking at the issue, which in some cases has forced U.S. personnel to retire.

“We’ve taken this very seriously,” she said. “We are going to do everything that we can … We're going to continue to do a comprehensive examination of the effects here that we're seeing and the potential causes."

A joint investigation unveiled late Sunday by CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Germany’s Der Spiegel and The Insider, found there is reason to believe that the U.S. intelligence assessment came to the wrong conclusion.

Pointing to travel documents, mobile phone records, eyewitness testimony and interviews with multiple U.S. officials and victims, the news organizations concluded there is a high likelihood that Russia is to blame.

Specifically, the investigation tied numerous reports of Havana Syndrome with the presence of members of Unit 29155 of Russia’s military intelligence service, known for its role in sabotage and assassinations.

It also found that many of the symptoms are consistent with the impact of sound or radio-frequency-based directed energy weapons.

Additionally, the investigation found members of GRU Unit 29155 received awards and promotions for their work on such weapons.

At the White House, Jean-Pierre referred additional questions about Havana Syndrome to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

ODNI, the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, on Monday all declined to respond to VOA’s request for comment.

But both ODNI and DIA pointed to the Worldwide Threat Assessment issued by U.S. intelligence agencies last month.

“Most IC [intelligence community] agencies have concluded that it is very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible for the reported AHIs [anomalous health incidents],” the assessment said, using the U.S. government terminology for Havana Syndrome.

“IC agencies have varying confidence levels because we still have gaps given the challenges collecting on foreign adversaries — as we do on many issues involving them,” the assessment added, noting intelligence analysts continue to monitor developments “in areas we have identified as requiring additional research and analysis.”

U.S. officials have recorded about 1,500 cases of Havana Syndrome since staff at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, first reported unexplained illnesses in 2016. Victims in Cuba, Russia, China, Poland, Austria and even the United States have reported a variety of symptoms, including nausea and dizziness, debilitating headaches and memory problems.

An initial investigation pointed to the possibility that at least some of those suffering symptoms were impacted by some sort of weapon, findings that were supported by a 2022 report by a panel of experts.

"Pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radiofrequency range, plausibly explains the core characteristics," the 2022 report said.

But that same year, U.S. intelligence officials began backing off the hypothesis that the mystery ailments were the result of a weapon. The CIA, for example, said it appeared most of the cases could be "reasonably explained" by medical conditions or environmental and technical factors.

Russia on Monday rejected the conclusions of the investigation by CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Germany’s Der Spiegel, and The Insider.

“This is nothing more than a groundless accusation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia’s TASS news agency.

“This is not a new subject at all,” Peskov said. “From the very beginning it was somehow tied to accusing the Russian side of it but nobody has ever published or voiced any convincing support to these unfounded accusations.”

Still, there have been reports of new cases.

The Pentagon Monday confirmed one of them, involving a U.S. defense official who was struck with symptoms “similar to those reported in anomalous health incidents" during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania last July.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters the individual was not part of the delegation attending the summit with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

"I'm not aware that the secretary's delegation was at risk," Singh said, adding that Austin “has confidence in the intelligence community.”

As for the possibility that Russian agents, or those working for other U.S. adversaries, may be deploying a directed-energy weapon, "We'd always be concerned,” Singh said.

“We'd always be concerned of any type of impact to our servicemembers, to our civilians that causes health defects, health impacts,” she said in response to a question from VOA.

State Department officials Monday said there would be no repercussions for any employees speaking against the U.S. intelligence findings and noted those affected by Havana Syndrome have been given access to medical care and compensation through the HAVANA ACT, signed into law in 2021.

“The safety and security of our personnel remains the top priority of the secretary and we are doing everything possible to help those affected,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.