Russian Defence Ministry explains UFO incident over St. Petersburg

Airspace over Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg was closed due to exercises of the forces of the Western air defence responsibility zone, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, February 28.

The defence department indicated that on February 28, the forces of the Western air defence responsibility zone conducted exercises to train interaction with civilian air traffic control authorities. According to military representatives, during the training, air defence forces practiced the detection, interception and identification of an alleged target while interacting with emergency services and law enforcement agencies.

Fighter jets of air defence forces of the Western Military District were involved to the practical part of the exercises, the ministry added.

In the morning of February 28, it was reported that fighter jets were scrambled over St. Petersburg because of an unidentified flying object.

The suspicious object was seen 160-200 kilometres from St. Petersburg. The sky over Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg was closed, but then opened again completely. All airport services are now operating normally.