★Historically significant

This 1967 CIA CONFIDENTIAL report provides a rare Cold War-era intelligence assessment of Soviet scientific opinion on UFOs, sourced from direct conversations at major Soviet astronomical institutions including contact with N.A. Kozyrev, a prominent and controversial Soviet astrophysicist.

CIA-UAP-010, Report on Conversations with Soviet Scientists on Subject of Unidentified Flying Objects in the USSR

CIAPDFMemoCONFIDENTIALNo redactionsPURSUE Release 3

4/10

niche or mildly interesting

UAP Insight significance score

Location: USSR
Incident date: August, 1967
Witnesses: Multiple witnesses
Released: June 12, 2026

UAP Characteristics

? Unknown shapeLuminous

Evidence Types

Testimony

Official Conclusion

Unevaluated information; no official conclusion stated. Soviet scientists generally considered UFOs an open question with no formal study underway.

Official Description

This CIA document from August 1967 reports on conversations about UFO sightings with Soviet scientists during a US astrophysicist's trip to the USSR.

Key Findings

→Soviet scientists were generally aware of UFO sightings in the USSR but reported no official government study or treatment of the subject as of 1967.
→N.A. Kozyrev at an unspecified institution held the personal opinion that UFOs may originate from Venus and was familiar with US UFO reports, accepting their reality.
→I.K. Koval at the Main Astronomical Observatory in Kiev reported personally witnessing a curious reddish flashing object with several colleagues that they could not identify as a satellite or meteorite.
→L.I. Galkin at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory confirmed observing a 'peculiar object' and was struck by the possibility it might have been a 'saucer.'
→The general assessment was that Soviet astronomers might be more open to investigating UFO reports than US counterparts, who were seen as inhibited by official ridicule.

UAP Insight Analysis— AI generated, not official

A CIA intelligence report dated August 18, 1967, documenting conversations between a US astrophysicist (source) and Soviet scientists at multiple astronomical institutions across the USSR in May 1967. The report summarizes Soviet scientific opinion on UFOs, noting general awareness of the phenomenon but limited official study, with individual scientists expressing varying degrees of interest. The source visited institutions in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Crimea, Alma Ata, and Kazakhstan.

Analyst Notes

Document is a secondhand intelligence report based on conversational exchanges, not direct UAP observations; source is a US citizen astrophysicist whose identity is not disclosed. No sensor data or physical evidence is referenced. Soviet scientist accounts are anecdotal and largely noncommittal. One sighting (ball lightning in Kazakhstan) was explained as automobile headlight reflections. The report is explicitly labeled 'THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION.'

Extracted Entities

People

V.I. MorozN.A. KozyrevI.K. KovalL.I. GalkinG.S. LifschitzG.M. IdlisDr. Kupo

Agencies & Organizations

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)Air Force (AFNIN)

Locations

USSRMoscowSternberg Institute, MoscowPulkovo Observatory, LeningradMain Astronomical Observatory, Kiev

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AI analysis by claude-sonnet-4-6 · July 20, 2026