The Voronezh Encounter
Children playing in a Soviet city park said a red sphere landed, and a very tall figure stepped out.
What was reported
On the evening of 27 September 1989, a group of children in a park in Voronezh said they saw a pink or red sphere land. They described a tall figure, around three metres, with three eyes, and a smaller robot-like companion. Several adults reported lights in the sky over the city that week.
In October, the official Soviet news agency TASS ran the story, and it was picked up by newspapers around the world, which was very unusual for a UFO report at the time.
Explanations offered
Many people outside the Soviet Union treated the TASS report as a joke, and sceptics suggest the children's story grew in the telling. Local investigators said they found marks in the ground. With few adult witnesses to the landing, it has never been settled.
- When
- 27 September 1989
- Where
- Voronezh, Russia (then USSR)
- Witnesses
- Children and adults in a city park
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.