Pentagon investigated Russian ‘energy attacks’ on US troops

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U.S. ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow for consultations in Washington Thursday in the latest move in a tense diplomatic standoff with Moscow.

Sullivan, a holdover nominee from the Trump administration, left Moscow after the Kremlin said Washington should recall him amid the growing diplomatic crisis – which comes after the U.S. slapped new sanctions on Russians close to President Vladimir Putin, and Russia amassed 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine.

Russia’s Tass news agency reported he departed Thursday. 

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The U.S. embassy announced this week Sullivan would return to Washington for talks this week after Moscow recalled its ambassador to the U.S.

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‘I believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia,’ Sullivan said in a brief statement. 

Adding yet another layer to the tensions, Pentagon officials have briefed lawmakers on directed-energy attacks on U.S. troops that Defense Department officials believe were carried out by Russia.

Lawmakers were briefed on injuries sustained by U.S. troops in Syria, Politico reported. It was not clear how many U.S. forces may have been involved.

Pentagon began investigating the attacks last year, amid concern the alleged attacks had parallels to mysterious attacks on U.S. diplomats in Havana, where diplomatic staff complained of hearing loss, headaches, and other symptoms. 

Multiple government agencies have been looking at such directed-energy attacks, which can involve microwave devices and use of high-powered radio waves.

The latest stunning claim of Russian efforts to harm U.S. forces comes after the administration dialed back accusations that Moscow offered bounties for killings of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. 

 U.S. intelligence has ‘low to moderate confidence’ in reports of the bounties that emerged last year, the administration revealed as it rolled out new sanctions on Russians and Russian entities last week in retaliation for the SolarWinds hack, Russian election interference, and the treatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Navalny is currently undergoing a hunger strike while being held in a Russian prison, after returning to the country after suffering an apparent poison attack with the nerve agent Novichok.  

Russia recalled its ambassador to Washington last week, amid outrage after President Biden in an interview with ABC referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a ‘killer.’

Russia recalled its own ambassador to Washington last month after Biden said he thought his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was a ‘killer.’ 

Russian troops began returning to basis following massive demonstrations in Crimea, which prompted warnings from Ukraine and the U.S. and allies. The move followed massive drills in Crimea around territory Russia seized in 2014, prompting sanctions from the U.S. and Europe.  The exercises involved thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of warplanes. 

Nearly 100,000 Russian troops are believed to have massed at the Ukrainian border. 

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