Somewhere in the Skies - Soviet UFOs: Behind the Iron Curtain

Episode Date: November 15, 2021

On episode 239 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, we peek behind the Iron Curtain to hear extraordinary accounts of UFO pursuits, crashes, and encounters from the former Soviet Union. Crash retrievals with supposed occupants, breaking in to an almost impenetrable craft, UFOs over a nuclear missile site, and an underwater battle with aquatic aliens... these are the sensational, yet sometimes well-documented cases to be unearthed in Soviet UFO files. Are these files merely a game of disinformation during the hight of the Cold War, or could they be true accounts of Russian military and civilian witnesses coming in to contact with something truly otherworldly?  This episode was co-researched and co-written by Marcus Lowth. To learn more, visit www.ufoinsight.com  Special thanks to John Greenewald and George Knapp for additional information and documentation included in this episode. Visit them at: www.theblackvault.com and www.mysterywire.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com YouTube Channel: CLICK HERE Official Store: CLICK HERE Somewhere in the Skies Coffee: CLICK HERE  Order Ryan’s book in paperback, ebook, or audiobook by CLICKING HERE Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Somewhere in the Skies Subreddit: www.reddit.com/r/SomewhereSkiesPod/ Watch Mysteries Decoded for free at www.CWseed.com Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is part of the eOne podcast network. To learn more, CLICK HERE Copyright © 2021 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved. Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The following is a first-hand account by Lieutenant Colonel Lev Viatkin, a former fighter pilot from the former Soviet Union. It was originally published in Volume 39 of the Flying Saucer Review. On August 13, 1967, I took off in my interceptor for a training flight. The time was several minutes past 23 hours. I turned on the afterburning in order to climb to 10,000 meter, a maneuverer. I maneuvered the plane to face the beam, determined my location, report to the flight commander, and smoothly banked the plane to the left. It was a calm, moonless night.

The bright constellations added to its charm. The plane had performed half of the turn and was facing the sea. The lights of Yalta, a black sea resort to town, glimmer below, along the half-moon of the beach. I made a routine check of the flight instrument. The engine murmured behind my armored chair. Everything was okay. The flight conformed to all standard procedure. At that moment, I caught sight of the thing that later kept returning to my memory

and troubling me, making me recall the details of my night flight, time and time again, searching for an explanation for what happened then. I saw the object when I looked up from the instruments. It was a very large, oval-shaped object which somehow fixed to the port of my plane. plane. A strange object so close to my plane could not help but worry me, so I request the flight commander, Major Muzatov, at once. Who is in his own? He consulted his instruments and answered to my surprise that there was nobody in his own, as all other planes had already landed. I banked the plane to the right, trying not to lose sight of the strange object which

worried me a lot. However, several seconds later, its lights went gradually down. as if a real stat switch had been turned off inside. Meanwhile, the plane made a complete right turn and came back to the starting point. I considered my next move and then decided to make the left turn I had planned, trying to be careful as possible. Hardly I had banked the plane to the left

and adjusted the speed and thrust when I saw a flash of bright light from above straight on the course of my plane. Then a slanting, milky white ray appeared in front of my plane. The ray was closing in on me. Had I not leveled out, the ray would have hit my fuselage, or, to be more exact, my cockpit. All the same I hit the ray with left wing. I was approaching the ray at a very high speed, not taking my eyes off it, so I had time to notice and feel something very strange. No sooner had the wing touched the ray, then the ladder broke in

a myriad of tiny sparkles like those you see in a spent firework. The plane shook violently and the instruments read off the scale. Is the ray solid? I thought instinctively with my eyes still on the strange sparkling pillar which stretched downwards. Soon the light above and the ray below disappeared. I kept searching the starry skies above. For more surprises, but everything was quiet.

My night flight ended safely. many day afterward, the surface of the wing which had come into contact with the strange ray shown at nights as if to remind me of the phenomenon. The account you just heard is one of many UFO incidents, alleged to have occurred in the former Soviet Union. While many unearthed documents and files have been obtained throughout the years, it's important to consider the veracity of such reports during the Cold War. Could this all be some sort of strange intelligence game. However, as we'll see, if even one of these accounts is true, they only add to the immeasurable amount of UFO encounters, not just in Russia,

but throughout the entire world. This is a case history of Soviet UFOs, pursuits, crashes, and encounters behind the Iron Curtain. This is somewhere in the skies. Brian Sprague. On August 28, 1991, an unknown object was spotted over the Caspian Sea. It was tracked by radar operators at the tracking station on the Mangishlak Peninsula. With estimates that were around 2,000 feet long and around 300 feet wide, and was at an altitude of 21,000 feet. The object's speed was clocked at over 6,000 miles per hour. After issuing the standard friend or foe request and receiving no reply,

the tracking station notified the cosmodron at Kapustin-Yar, a Russian rocket launch and development site, in Ostrachon Oblast, about 100 kilometers east of Volkerrad. They would confirm that they too had the object on their radars and that no other aircraft from their facility was in the region. It was at this point that a military alert was sounded. Moments later, two MiG-29 fighter jets that were already airborne on a routine mission were sent toward the region in an attempt to intercept the invading object. At the same time, two further Migs were scrambled from the ground to join them.

Their orders were simple, have the unknown craft land, and if they refused, shoot it down. A short time later, all four of the jets were over the Aral Sea, and soon had radar followed by visual confirmation. They would describe the unknown object as being metallic gray and elongated. At this point, the leader of the Miggs issued another friend or foe request, before ordering it to fall in behind so they could guide it to the ground. Once again, they received no response. The Migs, flying around 2,500 feet from the object, began to close in. The closer the MIG fighters got to the object, the more detail they could make out.

There appeared to be some writing or symbols on the exterior in a green color, but the pilots claimed these were an unknown language. They also noticed what happened to be two portholes at what they assumed was the front of the object. With the object, or at least their occupants, seeming little concerned about the MIG fighters at all, the flight leader radioed to ground control for further instruction. Rather than open fire at this stage, they were ordered to close in on the craft a little tighter. Once they were parallel to the vehicle, they were ordered to fire warning shots in front of it. The Migs reduced their distance from the object from 2,500 feet,

to around 1,500 feet, two on each side. However, when they went to fire the warning shots, there was no response. In fact, all of the electrical systems suddenly went down. Even worse, the engines to the planes started to fail. Forced to head back to base as best they could, the object soon took off into the distance. Incidentally, all four of the plane's controls and engines recovered. once the object had moved away from the fighters. In the meantime, radar operators continued to follow the object's progress,

noting that it appeared to be heading back to the RLC. The operators calculated its speed at an unbelievable 42,000 miles per hour. They warned other military and civilian airfields in the approximate flight path of the object of its presence, now worried that a collision with another aircraft was a distinct possibility. They watched the object for over 45 minutes. Then, without warning, it simply vanished from the radar screens. It wasn't, however, the end of the incident.

In fact, it was only just beginning. Over the following weeks, there was much discussion and military breaches. regarding the incident, as well as preliminary investigations. It would soon come to light that according to local rumors, on the day of the incident, several members of the local population witnessed a huge object crash into the Shaiton-Mazar mountain region. Shaiton Mazar is Russian for Grave of the Devil. By the end of September, an expedition team was formed to locate the downed craft. This unit was made up of a combination of UFO researchers from the UFO organization,

Sakufan, led by Anton Bogota, several locals who knew the area well and several experienced mountain climbers. The environment of the mountain range they were about to enter was far from forgiving. The search was two weeks old, but no sign of the crash site or the wreckage was found. However, rumors reached a team through local messengers that several residents had indeed found the site. Of concern was that they appeared to have suffered burns shortly after venturing there, and bizarrely their watches all ceased working. The group eventually headed to the Surrey-Jaws River Valley, determined to visit the location of the apparent crash.

However, after a further two weeks into the heart of the heart of the city, snowy environment and with several members of the search teams suffering from frostbite they made the decision to head back to their base camp ultimately the search mission was unsuccessful the rumors and local gossip of the crashed UFO though continued and so did talk of the event among high-ranking Russian officials despite the fact that the first team had failed to locate the crash site, even after a month of searching, Russian authorities were looking to launch a second attempt. When the Russian Air Force claimed to have located the wreckage in November of 1991, it appeared their fortunes had turned.

However, as the unit attempted to hoist a piece of the wreckage, it caused the helicopter they were using to crash. All of those on board were killed. Sakufan was informed of the incident, as well as the fact that a new search team was to be arranged for the late spring of 1992. This time, though, the unit would be much larger and under the overall leadership of a retired Russian major, one German Svekhov. What's more, rather than just set out for the crash site, all of those involved had to undergo training and pass multiple examinations and tests. Ultimately, when the second search mission set out in June of 1992, they did so in three units, each covering a different area around the location of the discovery of the helicopter crew, the previous November.

Within several weeks, after combing much of the area, they discovered what appeared to be the site where the UFO had come down. The huge object had broken in two and sat on a plateau in the grave of the grave of the world. the devil region. Many of the crew would recall how they appeared to be an energy force coming from the object, an energy of such that was almost palpable, even when at a distance of around 5,000 feet from the object. As they moved closer, their excitement began to turn to sudden and unexplained feelings of anxiousness and fear, and the closer they got, the stronger these feelings became. Various electronic devices and equipment began to malfunction.

At the same time, there was an electrical feel to the air, which now appeared very humid. Even stranger, when they checked their compasses, all the needles were pointed directly to the craft. Due to many of their devices malfunctioning, most of the planned tests had been abandoned. Despite not being able to get any closer than around, 2,500 feet to the crippled craft, they could take in plenty of details visually. As the unit looked around the scene, they were able to work out a likely scenario as to what had happened to this strange vehicle. Above where they stood was a large overhanging cliff. It appeared to those present that the object had crashed into this overhand, which had caused it to break into two

and come crashing to the ground, skidding around 5,000 feet before stopping. It was also clear that an explosion, likely to have happened as a result of the impact with the overhang, was the cause of the craft having broken into two. The resulting gaping holes in the two sides of the object allowed the search unit to see inside. Although they could see no sign of a crew of any kind, they could. see strange beams and the flooring of the craft. There was also considerable damage to the front of the vehicle where it had seemingly hit the ground. The symbols reported by the make pilots on the day the object appeared were also clearly visible on this craft. Copies were

quickly drawn and all of those who studied them attested that they had never seen anything like these symbols before and that they matched no known like language. Incidentally, the search unit managed to capture multiple photographs of the downed craft. However, it would appear that the energy field ruined the film, as all of the photos appeared very darkened and blurred. This was much the same for the attempts to video the craft as well, with the video cameras not working at all. The unit also discovered the remains of the wrecked helicopter, now theorizing that the intense electromagnetic fields could very well have caused the helicopter's equipment to malfunction and ultimately send it crashing to the terrain

below. They did find it a little perplexing and perhaps unnerving that there was no sign of any bodies. Although a third mission to the site was in the planning, almost immediately after the discovery of the crashed craft, it would not go ahead until six years later in August of 1998. And even then, it was a severely depleted effort. They failed to secure the services and funding of German Svekov, who had led the successful second mission as the Russian economy was in a severe downturn. He declined to become involved with the third attempt, so he could concentrate on his already struggling businesses. During this third mission, however, they would find the site,

but all that remained were the markers they themselves had left to mark where the craft had been. The wreckage itself was nowhere to be found. It was suspected that the military had discreetly returned following the discovery of the craft and retrieved it. Perhaps the fact that the ground had seemingly been planed and smoothed out so as to take away any evidence that an impact had happened. There is perhaps much more to contemplate from this apparent case of a crashed UFO. It is certainly an intriguing account, and one that has details that arise in other such cases of downed UFOs. However, while the credibility of the sources here is not in question per se, there are several sticking points that are perhaps worth examining.

The fact that no photographs or video footage was captured, for example, perhaps falls very nicely into the hands of skeptics. After all, if we assume that the electromagnetic energy did ruin the photos and films, we might assume that the authorities would have dispatched a plane on a photographic mission or even sent another unit to the area and have them photograph it from further away. And what about the third mission? Did the military remove the wreckage of the craft in the time it took to organize it? And might his concerns of his business not be the only reason

that Chekhov declined to set out to the site a third time? Might it be, given his military background, that he was fully aware that the craft was no longer there? Ultimately, this incident remains of interest to UFO researchers up until today. But as mentioned, this wasn't the only supposed UFO crash to take place in the former Soviet Union. According to an account written by UFO researcher BJ Booth, which was relayed to him by researchers Anton Onfanov, Lenora Aziznava, and Alexander Mosulov, and alleged UFO crashed on August 10. 1989. At around 11 a.m. on the morning in question, an anomalous object was spotted by Soviet

military radar operators near the city of Prolodny, with all attempts to communicate with it receiving no response. Several MiG fighters were scrambled into the air to intercept the object, while surface-to-air missiles were put on standby. With the object heading north, one of these missiles was launched and seemingly hit the object, causing it to crash somewhere in the Caucasian mountains. An M-18 helicopter immediately carried a retrieval team to the location, where the craft was shot down. They would soon locate the remains of what appeared to be a disc-shaped craft just outside of Nichnyjikum. They landed nearby and quickly secured the area, putting it off limits to all but those with official military clearance.

They would estimate the object was around 20 feet wide and around 10 feet high and had seemingly dragged along the ground for a considerable distance before coming to a stop near some large rocks. As the team studied the object, they could clearly see the damage inflicted by the missile strike.

After an initial assessment of the scene, a team, dressed in protective equipment, moved toward the craft to investigate further. As they did, extremely high levels of radiation were detected, which some of the unit had undoubtedly been exposed to. The object was successfully transported from the crash site to Maastock Air Base, where a team was assembled to study the apparent otherworldly craft in more detail. wearing fully protective clothing, the research team entered the craft through a door that was partially open, likely from the missile strike. Once inside, they would make some remarkable discoveries. At first, I didn't think it was real.

I woke up to this blinding light, and I was transported to another place. Pluto TV! Then I heard a voice. Come with me if you want to live. There were thousands of movies and shows, and they were. We're all free. The truth is our story. It's just so beautiful.

On Pluto TV, free streaming of Terminator 2, Fringe Arrow, the 100, and the X-Files may cause excitement, loss of sleep, and sudden belief in extraterrestrials. No credit cards or alien encounters necessary. Pluto TV, stream now, pay never. What's up, guys, Ryan Sprag here, and I'm just dropping in to remind you about our Patreon campaign. Somewhere in the Skies is always free to consume, but it's not free to create. So if you want to help the show on a monthly basis, we have tons of rewards for you. including shoutouts on the show and website, bonus content and episodes, and free merge.

Want to be my guest or pick a topic for the show? You can do that too. So if you'd like to learn more and to help support the show, visit patreon.com slash somewhere skies. Thank you and keep looking up. Not only did they find two dead entities seemingly killed by following equipment during the crash, but they discovered a third wounded entity. They would attempt to keep it alive, but ultimately it died a short time after. These strange beings themselves were described as being around three feet tall with whitish gray skin, although it appeared this skin was actually an outer cover, such as some futuristic clothing.

When they examined underneath this outer cover, they discovered skin that was of a blue, green cover that appeared to have a reptilian texture to it. They would further describe these beings as having extremely large, black, round eyes, and particularly large hairless heads, as well as three webbed fingers. These details are strikingly similar to what we call the grays. The interior of the craft itself was adorned with multiple control pads and buttons, with numerous other pieces of equipment strewn around the wrecked cockpit. While these investigations were taking place, according to the account,

a cover-up was put into action by the KGB, and all involved remained silent for many years to come. According to an account in the book Alien Liaison by Timothy Good, another crashed UFO incident occurred several months earlier in the spring of 1989, just outside Vladivostok. The case was investigated by Valerie Duzilni and further documented by Anton and Falo. The report states that on the day in question,

Soviet Navy personnel witnessed a glowing object entered the waters off the coast of the Dalni Vostok region. It wasn't certain whether this was a planned dive or whether the object had crashed into the sea, but a retrieval mission was put into action. The unit was almost immediately successful in their mission, quickly located an egg-shaped object, approximately 20 feet long resting on the seabed.

They would bring the object to the surface and back to shore. This object was described as being a dull matte gray, with a gradual dome on the top. It also had what appeared to be six oval port holes around the lower part of the object. There appeared to be slight damage to the underside of the craft, with a crack being clearly visible. A team was then put together to examine the object

and, if possible, gain entry into it. This proved unsuccessful. The object was eventually secretly transported to Moscow by train to the Central Material Research Institute, where further more intense study of it would get underway. The team assembled, struggled to break into the device, despite using a range of methods and cutting devices. They did, though, have success with a large crack on the underside of the object,

managing to expand it slightly using laser technology. They would find that the outer exterior itself appeared to be made of four separate layers. Although it would take almost three weeks, they eventually succeeded in creating a gap that would allow scientists to enter the craft. Wearing specially designed protective equipment, a small team did just that. They would find this vehicle was separated into three separate levels.

The engine on the bottom level, the main control room on the second level, and the top level acting as some kind of docking room. The main power reactor, in the engine room appeared to have exploded and was the possible cause of the crash. In the control room, there were multiple screens, panels, and many different colored buttons. Allegedly, there were also several alien bodies discovered in the control room. Two of the deceased crew remained sat in their chairs, while another lay on the floor.

They were approximately four feet tall with large hairless head. upon which set a helmet and large round eyes that appeared to be covered by large black lenses. Their skin was a gray-brown color, and they each had six fingers on each hand. Each was also dressed in a tight-fitting, metallic silver suit, with belts around their waists and silver green boots. Ultimately, the alien bodies were transported to a secret underground facility just outside of Solnitschna courts. So secret that only four officers even knew about it.

The object itself was taken to a mountain base on Novaya Zemla Island beyond the polar circle. While UFO landings and crashes are extraordinary on their own, there have been several incidents that allegedly occurred in Russia, as well where actual entities were encountered. alive. Located in southeastern Siberia, towards Mongolia's border, sits the planet's oldest and deepest lake. Nearly one quarter of Earth's fresh water is contained here.

Astonishing depths of over 5,000 feet have been measured in certain areas. A myriad of unique plant and animal species inhabit the frigid territory, many of which exist nowhere else in the world. Scientists estimate this massive basin formed as an ancient rift valley more than 25 million years ago. For centuries, Lake Bacall has been home to a plethora of

unexplained phenomena. Locals claim countless peculiar UFO encounters frequently occur within this remote region of Russia. Some theorize an extraterrestrial base is a lurking beneath the picturesque exterior. One of the most bizarre reports occurred in 1982

during a routine Soviet military training dive. While navigating the foreboding aquatic realm, Navy personnel noticed anomalous figures swimming nearby. Perplexed, they watched in bewilderment as several curious creatures approached them. Despite being stationed at a depth of over 100, 64 feet, these humanoids wore no modern equipment. Each donned tight-fitting metallic suits, complete with a helmet-like apparatus completely covering their heads. Upon closer inspection,

troopers noticed the aliens were nearly 10 feet tall. However, the colossal lock dwellers soon disappeared back into the murky abyss. Following this eerie run-in, the entreat commander ordered his recruits to capture one of these humanoids. Seven scuba divers entered the glacial lake and began their harrowing descent. Soon after navigating an elevator of declining temperatures, multiple entities emerged. One of the divers attempted to catch the unearthly specimen

in a large net, but at that moment, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, the entity fought back by shooting in a large net. intense sonar waves from a strange device. A powerful force rendered every crew member unconscious and rapidly propelled them to the surface. Catapulting upwards from extreme depths can have devastating effects on the body, resulting in a condition often called the bends.

Three of the squadron were seriously injured but did not succumb to this affliction. The remaining divers needed immediate transfer to a decompression chamber. Unfortunately, there was only one chamber in the region, and it was designed for merely two people at a time. Out of sheer desperation, four men entered simultaneously in an attempt to save their lives. Tragically, this last-ditch effort did not go as planned.

Three individuals perished as a result of their superior's hasty decision. Those who survived the terrifying ordeal would be left with life-altering disabilities. On the evening of February 13, 1989, near the Kopensky Lake in the Leningrad region, an encounter with a humanoid entity unfolded. The encounter is documented in the independent euphological newsletter of January 1991

in an article by K. Wolfe, titled Contact at Kopensky Lake. According to the article, three men from the Leningrad Auto Park, Yuri Basilevich, Sergei Yorovich, and Alexander Vichterovich had decided to embark on a fishing trip on Kopanski Lake, around 25 miles outside of the town of Sosnavy. As night fell, Victorvich noticed a strange object overhead, at least three to four times larger than the stars, that were already visible in the city. the sky. He alerted his two companions who also saw it. At first, it appeared the object was headed in their direction. However, it then made a sudden turn and continued on its way. The men watched it for 15 minutes before they eventually settled down in the camp to make dinner. After they'd eaten,

Vassilovich went into the nearby trees in search of wood for a fire. He walked around 30 feet into the woodland along the shore when he witnessed something that stopped him in his tracks. There, around 100 feet in front of him was a flat, disc-shaped object that was made from some kind of dark material. It was beautifully round with windows around its middle, out of which emanated a soft, matte light. He approached the object only slightly in order to get a better look. He noticed how it appeared to be completely smooth with no seams, joints, hatches, or doors anywhere to be seen. He remained where he was studying the object for around 20 seconds when he noticed a figure of some kind moving to the left of the object. A moment later,

he noticed a second figure on the other side, and then a third. For the first time during the incident, he began to feel unnerved and backed off slightly into the trees. He watched these figures move, noticing how they made no sound. He himself remained silent, until they were about 30 feet away from him, at which point he spoke aloud and made gestures with his arms, hoping to indicate that he was friendly. The figures remained silent, but began to approach him. He would later describe them as looking similar to humans, but with no way.

hair on their heads and a tightly closed mouth with no lips. He noticed how they had a look on their faces of severe concentration. Each also wore a tight-fitting gray suit. Suddenly, a flash like from a camera appeared and Vasilovich felt a sudden pressure in his head. At the same time, a metallic voice sounded out, only it appeared to be coming from inside of his head. It asked him, What are you doing here? To which he answered as best he could, that he was on a fishing trip. The voice then spoke again, asking him if he wished to go with them. Before he could answer, the voice spoke, saying, you will not return. We need to know what your inner structure is.

He declined the offer to go with them and began to back away. The voice returned inside his head, this time much more threatening in its own. tone, telling him that if humans started a nuclear war, we will destroy you. Then Vasilovich heard a loud buzzing sound that he would later liken to a high voltage wire. Then he saw another figure appear, again humanoid, but with shaggy hair on its body, and a head that appeared similar to an ape. He would estimate that it was at least 10 feet tall. As this hairy hominid stood in the clearing, the three aliens scuttered back to the ship. The craft then began to rise into the air before a blinding flash was emitted.

The next thing Fasilovich realized the craft and the Bigfoot-like creature had vanished. Another alleged UFO incident in Russia around this time comes from the files of researcher Michael Heisman. At Iran midnight on the evening of July 28, 1989, at a military base near Kapustinjar, two Russian soldiers noticed a strange object hovering overhead. Communications officer V. Voloshin, who was on duty on the night in question, would state in his report that he had climbed up to the watchtower after first spotting the object and watched it from around 18 feet above the ground. He would recall that he could clearly see a glaring blinking signal,

which was as bright as a camera flash. He further noted that the object headed out toward the missile units. At one point, flying at an altitude as low as 60 feet, at this low height, Volusin could see that it glowed a phosphorescent green and was approximately 15 feet across. Furthermore, there was a semi-spherical dome on the top of the object. As it hovered over the Weapons Depot, a bright light appeared on the underside and performed several circular movements, almost as if scanning the buildings below. After this, it headed out toward the rail track, where it remained for a short time before heading back in the direction of the missile units.

But this time, it was at a height of around two hundred. hundred feet. He watched the object for around two hours before it moved off into the distance, heading toward the town of Akhtubinksk. Another officer named in the report as G. Kulik noted that he witnessed a fireball which arose from the earth, and it headed in the direction of this strange craft. He further added that as the strange vehicle approached him, he could physically feel its approach. It suddenly shot into the sky, leaving Kulik to watch from the ground. He recalled that he saw an airplane that appeared to be attempting to close in on the otherworldly vehicle, but it simply accelerated off and disappeared. The witnesses would write in-depth reports following this incident,

right after an intense interrogation by KGB officers. The last Soviet case we're going to look at as been called the Sky Battle over Zastrovka. According to an account by Russian investigator, Nikolai Sabutin, on the evening of September 16, 1989, with multiple witnesses

on the ground, a large golden saucer appeared in the sky, followed shortly by six smaller silver disc-shaped craft, which appeared to attack the golden saucer with a strange beam of light. All of the obfuscary. All of the

objects would move through the sky during this apparent battle, with some of them coming down as low as 5,000 feet, and performed maneuvers that were completely beyond the capability of any known aircraft at the time. A report of the incident appeared in a local newspaper and claimed that during the incident a local power grid went down, blacking out the entire city. Witness statements in the newspaper article claimed that the golden disc was eventually overpriced. powered by the six smaller craft and appeared to make an attempt to land. However, in doing so, it disappeared from view behind a large house, appearing to crash into the ground. Shortly after, the objective of the smaller craft seemed to have been achieved, and they soon disappeared into the

distance. According to Sabatine's research, the craft had crashed on land that was used by the military as a test range. Consequently, the area was not open to the general public. It appeared that a retrieval mission was launched by the military and the craft was ultimately recovered. According to the research of another Russian UFO investigator, Amil Vaturing, military medical records suggested that several of the personnel

involved in the recovery suffered various injuries during the recovery mission. Incidentally, by the time, time that the investigators were allowed access to the area, all signs of any crash had been covered. Also of interest is the report of an airplane that attempted to fly over the region in an attempt to capture pictures from the air of the site. However, as it approached the area, all of its navigational equipment malfunctioned, causing it to abandon the mission. The test range was eventually, at least officially, shut down, but remained under strict military guard.

With the Cold War, fortunately behind us, the UFO presence does remain over Russia, much like it does over the United States and other countries around the world. And if even one of these accounts of a downed UFO or close encounter is true, where might these vehicles be now? Are they still being studied by Russian scientists today in some secret location? Those answers remain not only classified, but quite possibly, somewhere in the skies. This episode was researched and written in article form by Marcus Loth of UFO Insight under the title The Grave of the Devil Case, UFO Crash and Retrieval in Russia. To learn more, visit UFOinsight.com.

Special thanks to Connor J. Nolan for his voiceover work in this episode. To contact Connor for voiceover opportunities, follow him on Instagram at Connor J. Nolan. Or email Connor J. Nolan Finkel at gmail.com. Special thanks also to John Greenwald Jr. of the Black Vault, and George Knapp of Mystery Wire for additional information and documentation included in this episode. For more Russian UFO cases, check out a special bonus episode of Somewhere in the Skies, available right now for our Patreon subscribers. To learn more and to listen, visit patreon.com slash somewhere skies.

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