War.gov PURSUECIA
GovernmentAugust, 1967Analysis complete

CIA-UAP-010: Report on Conversations with Soviet Scientists on Subject of…

This released document records that the US scientist visited several astronomical observatories in the USSR in May 1967. The file preserves the source account or analysis but does not independently establish interpretations beyond the cited record. This document is useful as an officially released artifact because it preserves the file's provenance and lets its claims be compared with related Release 03 records.

File
Document · Release 03
Date
August, 1967
Location
USSR
Extent
2 pages

Probed Assessment

This released document records that the US scientist visited several astronomical observatories in the USSR in May 1967. The file preserves the source account or analysis but does not independently establish interpretations beyond the cited record.

Key takeaways

  • The source states that the US scientist visited several astronomical observatories in the USSR in May 1967.
  • The source states that v.I. Moroz was noncommittal on the subject of UFOs.
  • The source states that a radio astronomer stated he knew of no sightings of UFOs in the USSR.

Why it matters

This document is useful as an officially released artifact because it preserves the file's provenance and lets its claims be compared with related Release 03 records.

Corroboration

The release metadata and stored source material corroborate the file's provenance. Reported sightings, interpretations, and allegations remain attributed to the source unless independently supported by the cited evidence.

Open questions

  • What additional contemporaneous records or independent evidence could test the source account?

Probed separates this editorial assessment from the source claims below. It summarizes what the released artifact supports; it is not independent verification.

Official Description from War.gov

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

Preserved verbatim as source metadata. This wording is separate from Probed’s file-specific description and assessment.

File Context

Related entities

16

Tracker findings

4

Pulkovo astronomer mentioned unidentified-object sightings near Caucasus

The record states: An astronomer at Pulkovo Observatory mentioned sightings of unidentified objects near the Caucasus.

Soviet UFO reports were not printed in newspapers

The record states: Reports of UFO sightings are not printed in Soviet newspapers.

Astronomers saw a curious reddish object in the sky

The record states: I.K. Koval and other astronomers saw a curious, reddish object in the sky.

G.V. Idlis described the UFO question as still open

The record states: G.V. Idlis conceded that the UFO question was still open.

Release provenance

Release
Release 03
Official ID
release-03-file-019-cia-uap-010-report-on-conversations-with-soviet-scientists-on-subject-of-unidentified-flying-obj
Cleared
Jun 12, 2026
Official release source

Referenced Timeline

  1. Page 1

    US scientist's trip to the USSR

    A US scientist visited several astronomical observatories in the USSR.

    LinkedUSSR
  2. Page 1

    Report distribution date

    The report on conversations with Soviet scientists was distributed.

Source Claims

Claims are attributed to the released source and remain distinct from Probed’s assessment and tracker findings.

Reported by source13Source interpretation1
Source reportedObservedPage 1

The US scientist visited several astronomical observatories in the USSR in May 1967.

This report is an account of conversational exchanges on the subject of UFO's during the course of a one-month trip of a US scientist through the USSR in the spring of 1967.

LinkedUSSR
Source reportedObservedPage 1

V.I. Moroz was noncommittal on the subject of UFOs.

He visited V.I. Moroz, Sternberg Institute, Moscow, who was noncommittal on the subject of UFO's.

Source reportedObservedPage 1

A radio astronomer stated he knew of no sightings of UFOs in the USSR.

The scientist who served as translator, a radio astronomer, emphatically stated that he knew of no sightings of UFO's in the USSR.

LinkedUSSR
Source reportedObservedPage 1

An astronomer at Pulkovo Observatory mentioned sightings of unidentified objects near the Caucasus.

At the Pulkovo Observatory, Leningrad, one of the astronomers mentioned that she had heard of some sightings of unidentified objects near the Caucasus.

Source reportedObservedPage 1

N.A. Kozyrev was interested in the UFO problem and did not accept Menzel's conclusions.

The US scientist's main visit was to N.A. Kozyrev, who was very interested in the problem. He had read Menzel's book (which has been translated into Russian), but did not accept its conclusions.

Source reportedObservedPage 1

Reports of UFO sightings are not printed in Soviet newspapers.

Kozyrev knew of some sightings in the northern part of the USSR, but said that reports of such sightings are not printed in Soviet newspapers because they are not regarded as scientific observations.

LinkedUSSR
Source reportedObservedPage 2

I.K. Koval and other astronomers saw a curious, reddish object in the sky.

I.K. Koval mentioned that he and several other astronomers had been out in the countryside one evening and had seen a curious, reddish object flashing through the sky.

LinkedI K Koval
InterpretationAssertedPage 2

The object seen by Koval and others might have been a fragment of a satellite or rocket.

However, their immediate interpretation was that this object might have been a fragment of a satellite or rocket returning from orbit, burning up in the atmosphere.

Source reportedObservedPage 2

L.I. Galkin confirmed the observation of a peculiar object.

One of the astronomers, L.I. Galkin, was with the group mentioned by Koval and confirmed the observation of a peculiar object.

Source reportedObservedPage 2

G.V. Idlis considered Menzel's book an adequate treatment of the UFO subject.

He too had read Menzel's book, but considered it an adequate treatment of the subject which he consequently felt was closed.

LinkedG V Idlis
Source reportedObservedPage 2

G.V. Idlis conceded that the UFO question was still open.

Idlis readily conceded that there might be more to it and concluded by stating that it was 'clearly still an open question.'

LinkedG V Idlis
Source reportedObservedPage 2

In northern Kazakhstan, sightings of ball lightning were actually reflections of automobile headlights.

Another astronomer mentioned that in the northern part of Kazakhstan there had been repeated sightings of ball lightning. The University in Alma Ata had sent a team out to investigate and discovered that what was being seen were reflections of automobile headlights from an inversion…

Source reportedObservedPage 2

Dr. Kupo was interested in the UFO problem as part of her research on bolides.

A stellar spectroscopist, Dr. [illegible] Kupo, was also interested in this problem, partly as an adjunct to her attempts to locate fragments from bolides.

LinkedDr. Kupo
Source reportedObservedPage 2

There is no official treatment of the UFO problem in the USSR.

The general feeling one gets is that no official treatment of the UFO problem has been given in the USSR.

LinkedUSSR

Source Material & Evidence

document

Report No. OO-B-321/23430-67

RELEASE-03-FILE-019-CIA-UAP-010-REPORT-ON-CONVERSATIONS-WITH-SOVIET-SCIENTISTS-ON-SUBJECT-OF-UNIDENTIFIED-FLYING-OBJ

paper

Menzel's book

paper

McDonald's critical study

Research Map

16 entities · 2 grounded links

Lines appear only when two entities share a row-level source claim or dated timeline event. Unconnected nodes remain visible without implying a relationship.

UAP/Disclosure Graph
16 nodes2 links