USSR: UFO Sightings No. 3 — Deputy Minister of Defense Interview

This document is a Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) press note summarizing recent Soviet media coverage regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The report highlights an interview with Soviet Deputy Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, General Ivan Tretyak, published in the November 9 edition of Literaturnaya Gazeta. General Tretyak confirmed that Soviet fighter-interceptors have encountered unidentified flying objects in Soviet airspace. He noted that these objects have been photographed by pilots and detected on target screens, though some possess 'stealth-like' capabilities that prevent the recording of radar signals. When questioned by columnist O. Moroz regarding whether these sightings constitute a violation of Soviet sovereignty, Tretyak argued it was premature to classify them as a threat to national security. He suggested that while pilot reports describe objects of potential artificial origin, their true nature remains unknown. Tretyak attributed many past sightings to natural phenomena, misinterpretations of rocket launches, or space debris. He further suggested that cosmic rays penetrating ozone holes formed during rocket launches might account for some phenomena. Tretyak also referenced a specific mass observation case from March 1990, reported by Colonel General Maltsev, involving two pulsating objects observed northeast of Moscow. He noted that the military had previously withheld information about certain late 1970s sightings for security reasons.