Russian dismissed a joint media investigation which found evidence that a Russian military intelligence unit might be responsible for the mysterious health condition known as ‘Havana syndrome’ that affected US diplomats and spies across the world.
Key points
- Havana syndrome refers to a set of mental health symptoms that are said to be experienced by United States intelligence and embassy officials in various countries.
- Havana syndrome typically involves symptoms such as hearing certain sounds without any outside noise, nausea, vertigo and headaches, memory loss, and balance issues.
- The syndrome traces its roots to Cuba in late 2016.
- This was about a year after the US opened its embassy in the capital city of Havana after ties between the two countries were normalised in 2015.
- Some US intelligence officials and members of the staff at the embassy began experiencing sudden bursts of pressure in their brains followed by persistent headaches, feelings of disorientation and insomnia.