The topic is a 1989 (or 1990) encounter between a squad of Soviet anti-aircraft soldiers (who were probably tripping on ergot and alcohol) and a UFO (probably a Soviet AA searchlight crew). The claim is that the soldiers spotted a UFO near their Siberian base and shot it down, prompting the pissed-off aliens to retaliate by killing 23 out of 25 soldiers (two survived).
This information came from a KGB document released to the public during the Gorbachev Glastnost era. Shortly afterward, the story was published in 1990 by Canadian and Ukrainian supermarket press outlets. From there, the CIA distilled the story down to an unclassified report (probably to amuse other members of the intel community much as we share memes today).
So this absurd story, which includes angry space aliens using a blinding light to turn soldiers into limestone “poles,” has been floating around for over three decades yet has only become “viral” on the internet since the CIA document dump.
Why the delay? It could be that no self-respecting Western wire-service would bother carrying a story from the sensationalist supermarket press—at least not in 1990—but we live in different times now. UFOs are getting a lot of attention and the internet “citizen press” can turn anything—even a purple-haired geek setting farts on fire—into a viral overnight sensation.
Incidentally, the petrified remains of five of the dead Soviet soldiers have only recently been positively identified and their photos have been released to the public:
Statistics: Posted by Colonel Obyezyana — 4/15/2025, 1:07 pm — Replies 0 — Views 128