UFOs, Interview with a Soviet High Command Officer

Summary

In 1991, the Russian newspaper *Literaturnaya Gazeta* published an interview with Ivan Tretyak, the Soviet Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the Air Defense Forces. Tretyak confirmed that Soviet interceptors had encountered unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in Soviet airspace. According to Tretyak, these objects displayed characteristics similar to conventional aircraft, such as blinking lights and coordinated movement, but were not planes. Soviet pilots even managed to photograph some of these objects and detect optical and thermal signals, although they could not register them via radar due to their "stealth-like" capabilities. Tretyak emphasized that, although UFOs did not appear to pose a direct threat, their nature remained unknown. The Soviet high command considered it premature to view them as a violation of the country's sovereignty.

Tretyak also addressed the topic of rumors and hoaxes related to UFOs. He noted that many sightings could be explained as natural phenomena, optical errors, or even fabricated news stories by the press. However, he acknowledged that some cases, supported by eyewitness accounts and photographs, were real. The high-ranking officer mentioned that in the 1970s, some UFO phenomena had already been identified as atmospheric effects caused by space launches, but these had not been made public for security reasons. Tretyak concluded that, although he had no conclusive proof that UFOs were of extraterrestrial origin, he believed investigating them was