GRU Unit 29155
Unit 29155 is a Russian military intelligence (
Organization and method
The Unit is commanded by Maj. Gen.
Le Monde reported in December 2019, citing French intelligence contacts, that 15 agents connected with Unit 29155 visited the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps between 2014 and 2018 including Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov who are believed to be responsible for the Skripal poisoning.[5][6] High-ranking GRU officer Denis Vyacheslavovich Sergeev (alias Sergei Fedotov) has been identified by British authorities as the commander of the team that poisoned Sergei Skripal,[7][2] a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies, and his daughter Yulia Skripal. Anatoliy Chepiga, one of the suspected Skripal attackers, was photographed at Averyanov's daughter's wedding in 2017.[8]
The unit's operations were described as sloppy by security officials since none of the operations to which it has been linked were successful.
Activities
Unit 29155 was linked — by the investigative
Alleged bounty program
In 2020, a CIA assessment reported that Unit 29155 operated a
Alleged connection to Havana syndrome
In April 2024,
See also
- Advanced persistent threat or APT
- PLA Unit 61398, "APT 1"
- PLA Unit 61486
- Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum
- Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services
References
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
- ^ a b c Schwirtz, Michael (22 December 2019). "How a Poisoning in Bulgaria Exposed Russian Assassins in Europe". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Dreadful Eight: GRU's Unit 29155 and the 2015 Poisoning of Emilian Gebrev". Leicester, England: Bellingcat. 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019.
- ^ Отравительная восьмерка. Как и зачем 8 сотрудников ГРУ пытались отравить «Новичком» болгарского предпринимателя Гебрева [Poisonous Eight. How and why 8 GRU employees tried to poison the Bulgarian entrepreneur Gebrev with "Novichok"]. The Insider (in Russian). 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019.
- ^ Janjevic, Darko (5 December 2019). "Russia posted GRU agents in French Alps for EU ops — report". Deutsche Welle (DW). Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ Bremner, Charles (6 December 2019). "Russian assassins hid out in Alpine ski resorts". The Times. London. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ Rakuszitzky, Moritz (14 February 2019). "Third Suspect in Skripal Poisoning Identified as Denis Sergeev, High-Ranking GRU Officer". Bellingcat.
- ^ Andrew S. Bowen (November 24, 2020). Russian Military Intelligence: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020.investigations in Eastern Europe.
While Unit 29155 is often described as secretive, its tradecraft has at times been sloppy, including implausible cover stories and repeated use of the same aliases. [...] "We only know the failures, because they fail a lot. They may be doing a lot of other things that we don't know about," said Aric Toler, who heads up Bellingcat's
- ^ "8 Russian Agents Linked to Bulgaria Poisoning – Bellingcat". The Moscow Times. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ Macintyre, Ben (6 December 2019). "Smersh spy-killers are back in business". The Times. London. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ "Serbs Convicted in Montenegro Return Home Awaiting Appeals". Balkan Insight. 13 May 2019.
- ^ "Montenegro Seeks to Lure More Russian Tourists". Balkan Insight. 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Exkluzivně: Rusové podezřelí z výbuchu ve Vrběticích jsou ti, kteří otrávili agenta Skripala" [Exclusive: Russians suspected of an explosion in Vrbětice are those who poisoned Agent Skripal]. www.seznamzpravy.cz. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "Národní centrála proti organizovanému zločinu SKPV, žádá..." [National Central Office against Organized Crime SKPV, asks ...]. Twitter. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "Senior GRU Leader Directly Involved With Czech Arms Depot Explosion". Bellingcat. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
- ^ a b Nakashima, Ellen; DeYoung, Karen; Ryan, Missy; Hudson, John (28 June 2020). "Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants resulted in deaths of U.S. troops, according to intelligence assessments". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ "U.S. commander: Intel still hasn't established Russia paid Taliban 'bounties' to kill U.S. troops". NBC News. September 14, 2020.
- ^ Savage, Charlie; Schmitt, Eric; Schwirtz, Michael (27 June 2020). "Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ Rivkin, David B. Jr.; Beebe, George S. (July 5, 2020). "Opinion: Why we need a little skepticism, and more evidence, on Russian bounties". The Hill.
- ^ Savage, Charlie; Schmitt, Eric; Callimachi, Rukmini; Goldman, Adam (3 July 2020). "New Administration Memo Seeks to Foster Doubts About Suspected Russian Bounties". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- ^ Brennan, David (29 June 2020). "What Is Unit 29155? The Russia Intel Branch Accused of U.S. Troop Bounties". Newsweek. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ a b Martinez, Luis (July 10, 2020). "Top Pentagon officials say Russian bounty program not corroborated". ABC News.
- ^ Rawnsley, Adam; Ackerman, Spencer (April 15, 2021). "U.S. Intel Walks Back Claim Russians Put Bounties on American Troops". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Ken Dilanian and Mike Memoli (April 15, 2021). "Remember those Russian bounties for dead U.S. troops? Biden admin says the CIA intel is not conclusive". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ a b Dobrokhotov, Roman; Grozev, Christo; Weiss, Michael (31 March 2024). "Unraveling Havana Syndrome: New evidence links the GRU's assassination Unit 29155 to mysterious attacks on U.S. officials and their families". The Insider. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-dismisses-report-russia-behind-havana-syndrome-2024-04-01/
- ^ https://www.voanews.com/a/us-not-moved-by-report-blaming-russia-for-havana-syndrome/7552401.html