Was Russia Behind Havana Syndrome?

Dennis Nelson
MAJ Dennis S Nelson (US Army, ret.)

On 3 January 2026, during the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro, Venezuelan soldiers claimed US forces employed an acoustic weapon. Reportedly, the weapon’s effects were similar to those suffered by US diplomats and intelligence officers in Havana and elsewhere, beginning in the fall of 2016, and known as the Havana Syndrome.

While this claim has not been verified, it serves to remind us of Russia’s historic acoustic weapon program and, with recent reporting, provides more credence to the belief that Russia had deliberately employed acoustic weapons to harm US personnel.

History of Soviet/Russian Acoustic Weapon Development

According to open-source reporting, Soviet Union/Russia had developed acoustic weapons:

• DIA warned in 1976 that Soviet research on microwaves for “internal sound perception” showed great promise for “disrupting the behavior patterns of military or diplomatic personnel.”[1]^,[2]
• According to Russia’s 2010 Military Doctrine, acoustic weapons will have increasing significance in modern military conflicts.[3]
• In a 2012 article, a Russian military author stated that future military operations would be enhanced by the employment of weapons based on new physical principles, including acoustic weapons.[4]
• According to a 2013 article, a Russian military author stated that new-generation warfare will be influenced by new military technologies and weapons based on new physical principles, including acoustic weapons.[5]

Russia had equipped or was in the process of equipping its forces with acoustic weapons:

• In 2012, Russian Defense Minister Serdyukov stated that the creation of weapons based on new physical principles of “beam, physical, wave, genetic, psychophysical, and so on” would be put into implementation of the program for 2011–2020. Anatoliy Tyganok, Director for Military Forecasting, elaborated that these weapons included acoustic weapons.[6]
• In 2016, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu stated that in the planned implementation of the technical re-equipping of the army and fleet, underway now, weapons based on new physical principles – including acoustic weapons – are highlighted.[7]

The desired effects of acoustic weapon exposure regarding Russian research in technical journals and in Soviet/Russian acoustic experiences are precisely consistent with the symptoms experienced by the US and Canadian personnel who became ill in 2016, as shown in table 1.

Table 1. Commonality of with Desired Effects of Russian Acoustic Weapons with Symptoms Reported by Diplomatic Personnel in Cuba and China.

Based on this evidence, a strong circumstantial case could be made that Russia was the perpetrator of those acoustic weapon attacks.

Recent Evidence

The lead investigator for the Defense Intelligence Agency for Havana Syndrome stated, with high confidence, that Russia was responsible for employing the acoustic weapons.[19]^,[20]

Additional reporting revealed that the specific Russian organization responsible for employing the acoustic weapons was Unit 29155 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). This is the same infamous Unit 29155 that was responsible for employing the Novichok nerve agent against Russian defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018.[21]

The investigative group, the Insider, named two specific Unit 29155 officers who were present during acoustic attacks, one each, on US personnel in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Frankfurt Germany.[22]

Senior members of Unit 29155 were tasked with testing non-lethal acoustic weapons. In 2017, Colonel Ivan Terentiev, of Unit 29155, was commended for his article “Finding the Perspectives for Use of Acoustic Weapons in Urban Warfare Scenarios”.[23]^,[24] 

According to the Insider, is probable, with 60–70 per cent confidence, that GRU Unit 29155 deployed directed energy weapons to target US personnel, based on geolocation evidence, technical documentation, and victim patterns. [25]

In 2025, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of the Department of Homeland Security, purchased a device of Russian origin, that emitted pulsed radio waves that may be linked to Havana Syndrome, reportedly from a Russian source.[26]^,[27],[28]

Conclusion

The recent documentation revealed by investigative reporters such as the Insider and others only reinforces the already compelling evidence that Russian operatives were responsible for employing acoustic weapons causing Havana Syndrome, especially the naming of the specific Russian organization, Unit 29155 of the GRU.

This new information could also provide some vindication for the suffering of an estimated 1,500 victims of Havana Syndrome.

Notes:

[1] Microwave Weapons Suspected as Cause of U.S. Envoys' Illnesses, Radio Free Europe, 4 Sept 2018.

[2] Broad, William J. Microwave Weapons Are Prime Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers, New York Times, 1 Sept 2018.

[3] Military Industrial Courier, Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation, 5 Oct 2010

[4] G.A. Naletov, On the Issue of Development of Concept of Non-Traditional Wars and Military Conflicts, Journal of the Academy of Military Science, Jan 2012

[5] S.G. Chekinov, and S.A. Bogdonov, On the Character and Content of New Generation War, Military Thought, 2013

[6] Russia: Tsyganok Elaborates on Serdyukov Statements on New Weapon Development, 28 March 2012, Open Source Enterprise CEP20120326358002 

[7] Sergei Shoigu, Russia Develops Weapons on the Basis of New Physical Principles, Reform of the Army, 2016

[8] V.N Polovinkin and A.P. Solov’ev, Perspective Weapons Design: Myths or Reality, Naval Gazette, 22 June 2004

[9] An Audible Death, Acoustic Weapons Still Considered Non-Lethal, But Not for Long, 19 Aug 2005, Open Source Enterprise CEP20050822949007

[10] V. Snigur, Army Compilation, Next Battle, Sept 2012

[11] I.N. Vorobyov and V.A. Kiselev, Counter Sabotage and Antiterrorist Struggle in a Combat Operation, Military Thought, 30 June 2016

[12] V.M. Moiseev and V.I. Orlyansky, Nonlethal Weapons: Tactical Principles, Military Thought, Feb 2011

[13] V. Yu Mikriukov, Means of Armed Struggle of the Future Journal of the Academy of Military Science, Feb 2013

[14] Alex Kasprak, Do 'Sonic Weapons' Adequately Explain 'Havana Syndrome'? Snopes, 25 Sept 2017, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/do-sonic-weapons-explain-the-health-diplomats-cuba/

[15] Richard Stone, Sonic Attacks or Mass Paranoia? New Evidence Stokes Debates over Diplomats’ Mysterious Illness, Science Magazine, 22 June 2018,  https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/sonic-attack-or-mass-paranoia-new-evidence-stokes-debate-over-diplomats-mysterious │ 22 June 2018

[16] Rhett Jones, Listen to the Sound that U.S. Diplomats Heard when Attacked by a ‘Sonic Device’ in Cuba, Gizmodo, 12 Oct 2017,  https://gizmodo.com/listen-to-the-sound-that-us-diplomats-heard-when-attack-1819412028

[17] Matt Novak, American Suffers Mysterious Brain Injury in China Similar to ‘Sonic Attack’ in Cuba,  23 May 2018, Gizmodo, https://gizmodo.com/american-suffers-mysterious-brain-injury-in-china-simil-1826252764

[18] Christian Caryl, A Diplomat’s Mysterious Illness Could Jeopardize China’s Relationship with the U.S., Washington Post, 6 June 2018

[19] Tom Rogan, New GRU reporting shatters intelligence community’s Havana Syndrome spin, Washington Examiner, 1 April 2024, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/2947570/new-gru-reporting-shatters-intelligence-communitys-havana-syndrome-spin/

[20] Christo Grozev, Roman Dobrokhotov, Michael Weiss, The GRU’s connection to Havana Syndrome: The Insider’s investigative team tells the story behind its most recent bombshell exposé, The Insider, 11 April 2024, https://theins.ru/en/politics/270717

[21] Unit 29155 was also involved in the attempted killing of Bulgarian arms manufacturer Emilian Gebrev using a poison smeared on the door handle of his car in April 2015, for destroying a Czech ammunition facility, owned by Gebrev’s company EMCO, killing two people, in 2014, for a failed coup attempt in Montenegro in 2016, for an effort to influence a Catalonia independence referendum in 2017, and likely interfering in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and 2018 Brexit election.  In the words, Unit 29155 is the GRU’s go to malign actor.

[22] Christo Grozev, Roman Dobrokhotov, Michael Weiss, The GRU’s connection to Havana Syndrome: The Insider’s investigative team tells the story behind its most recent bombshell exposé, The Insider, 11 April 2024, https://theins.ru/en/politics/270717

[23] Christo Grozev, Roman Dobrokhotov, Michael Weiss, The GRU’s connection to Havana Syndrome: The Insider’s investigative team tells the story behind its most recent bombshell exposé, The Insider, 11 April 2024, https://theins.ru/en/politics/270717

[24] Directed Energy Weapons, Hybrid Warfare and Havana Syndrome Disinformation, 16 May 2025, https://section14.substack.com/p/directed-energy-weapons

[25] Directed Energy Weapons, Hybrid Warfare and Havana Syndrome Disinformation, 16 May 2025, https://section14.substack.com/p/directed-energy-weapons

[26] Julia Ioffe, Havana Syndrome Breakthrough: U.S. Tests Suspected Device, Yahoo, 15 Jan 2026, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/havana-syndrome-breakthrough-u-tests-183637973.html

[27] Naman Trivedi, Havana Syndrome Mystery Deepens: How A Newly Revealed Pentagon Device Is Fueling Fresh Suspicion, Times Now News,14 Jan 2026, https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/havana-syndrome-meaning-causes-symptoms-pentagon-device-article-153443628

[28] Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez, Jim Sciutto, Zachary Cohen, Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to Havana syndrome, CNN, 13 Jan 2026, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pentagon-bought-device-through-undercover-operation-some-investigators-suspect-is-linked-to-havana-syndrome/ar-AA1U6dRd?ocid=BingNewsSerp

This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.