Vasily Yeremenko

Background and KGB Role

Vasily Yeremenko is a retired FSB major general and researcher with the Academy of Security, Defense and Law and Order Issues in Russia. During the Soviet era, he served in a critical role within the KGB structure: heading the division that oversaw the Soviet air force and aircraft manufacturing operations. In this position, Yeremenko was tasked with the systematic collection and analysis of UFO sighting reports across Soviet military installations and civilian areas—one of the most sensitive intelligence-gathering operations during the Cold War.

Soviet UFO Research Programs

Yeremenko's disclosures reveal that the Soviet Union maintained extensive, formally structured UFO research initiatives involving both the KGB and the Soviet Defense Ministry. These were not marginal pursuits but institutionalized investigations with dedicated personnel and resources. The catalyst for accelerated research came in 1978, when the Petrozavodsk incident unfolded: hundreds—possibly thousands—of witnesses across the Soviet city observed a massive luminous object traversing the sky for several hours. The incident prompted overwhelming calls to local emergency services and inquiries from neighboring countries asking the Soviet Union to explain what mysterious military exercise was underway. Following this watershed moment, academician Aleksandrov (founder of Soviet nuclear power programs) wrote a letter to government officials arguing it would be a mistake to ignore the phenomenon, spurring establishment of dedicated study programs.

Yeremenko's division began conducting systematic experiments to understand the phenomena. In the early 1980s, a particularly intriguing experiment was staged at a military range in Astrakhan Region. According to Yeremenko's account, Soviet researchers discovered that UFO sightings correlated with areas of heightened military activity—weapons tests, concentrated hardware movements, and high-tension operational periods. They theorized that deliberate concentration of military resources might attract or provoke anomalous object responses. Yeremenko stated: "One could say that, during that experiment, we learned how to summon a UFO" with approximately 100 percent probability of manifestation. These claims remain controversial but were presented to the scientific community as based on documented observations.

Responsive Contact and Physical Interaction Claims

Yeremenko documented instances that suggest interactive behavior between military personnel and luminous spherical objects. He described cases in which ground-based military personnel executed specific arm movements, and corresponding responses were observed in the sky—the objects mimicking the movements of the personnel below. These accounts challenge conventional explanations and suggest either intelligent control or extraordinary responsiveness to human activity. While unconventional, Yeremenko presented these observations within the context of formal Soviet government documentation and military protocol.

Public Disclosure and Zigel Readings (2013)

Yeremenko remained silent about his experiences for decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In March 2013, he chose to go public, speaking directly to Russia Beyond at the Zigel Readings conference—a scientific forum honoring the work of Soviet astronomer Felix Ziegel, a pioneering figure in Soviet UFO research. In these statements, Yeremenko advocated that UFO phenomena warrant serious, sustained scientific investigation as matters of national security. He emphasized that anomalous phenomena had been treated as significant by Soviet leadership and military command, contrary to Western dismissals of the subject.

Yeremenko's willingness to disclose these details decades later, coupled with his high-ranking government position and direct responsibility for the research programs, lends credibility to his claims. He was not a fringe theorist but rather a government official with access to classified research and documentation. His public statements were made to established media (Russia Beyond is a credible international publication) and at academic forums, suggesting genuine intent to contribute to scientific understanding rather than promote sensational claims.