U.S. officials have long been stumped by the suspected attacks and the symptoms associated with them, which include intense ringing and pressure in the ears, vision and hearing impairment, loss of balance and other cognitive abilities, as well as permanent brain damage. Officials across the government have also struggled to learn more about the specific type of weaponry that directs highly concentrated electromagnetic energy toward a victim.
The attacks were first detected in 2016 in Havana, Cuba, where dozens of American diplomats were sidelined in what prompted a wide-ranging investigation by the U.S. government. The resulting illness became known as Havana Syndrome.
Last year, U.S. officials tracked a sharp rise in similar incidents affecting American personnel in various countries and, for the first time, right at home. A National Security Council official is believed to have been hit with a directed-energy attack while walking on the Ellipse, the lawn just south of the White House; two other NSC officials were recently impacted near their homes outside Washington.
The U.S. intelligence community has not formally determined who is responsible for the suspected attacks, which are extremely difficult to attribute due to their invisible nature. However, administration officials have told lawmakers that they believe Russias military-intelligence unit, the GRU, is responsible, POLITICO first reported.
The U.S. government has significantly ramped up its investigation in recent months to include the entire intelligence community in addition to the National Institutes of Health. Just last week, a senior State Department official was referring employees who report symptoms consistent with Havana Syndrome to the NIH, which has been playing a leading role in analyzing symptoms, according to a congressional official briefed on the probe.
The next step is to continue finding out whos doing this, Collins said.
Warner and his counterpart atop the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), have vowed to get to the bottom of the suspected attacks, and CIA Director William Burns is receiving daily briefings on the status of the governments investigation.