Alien encounter in Siberia turned soldiers to stone, CIA files claim

Washington: A newly resurfaced CIA document alleges that an alien encounter in Siberia more than three decades ago left 23 Soviet soldiers petrified during a bizarre and deadly encounter with extraterrestrials.
According to a 250-page declassified CIA file made public in 2000, a Soviet military unit reportedly encountered a UFO while conducting routine exercises between 1989 and 1990. The documents, originally obtained by U.S. intelligence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, detail an incident in which troops spotted a low-flying, saucer-shaped object hovering above them.
One of the soldiers allegedly fired a surface-to-air missile, downing the object. What happened next stunned military personnel and would later be labelled by the CIA as “an extremely menacing case”.
According to the report, five humanoid beings with large heads and black eyes stepped out from the wreckage. The figures then reportedly merged into a glowing sphere and exploded, releasing an intense burst of light and energy that turned 23 soldiers into stone. Two others survived as they were partially shielded from the blast, the report said.
The CIA document, titled “Paper Reports Alleged Evidence on Mishap Involving UFO”, states that the petrified soldiers were composed of a substance with a molecular structure nearly identical to limestone. The remains, along with debris from the unidentified craft, were allegedly transferred to a secret scientific research facility near Moscow.
Though the incident is undated in the CIA’s file, it was also reported by the Ukrainian newspaper Holos Ukrayiny March 27, 1993.
A CIA analyst wrote, “If the KGB file corresponds to reality, this is an extremely menacing case.” The documents suggest the Soviet government had long suspected the presence of alien life, while the United States had allegedly been aware of extraterrestrials for at least 80 years.
The story recently resurfaced during a discussion on Josh Hooper’s “Evil” podcast.
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