On July 28–29, 1989, seven military personnel at Kapustin Yar observed a phosphorescent green disc hover over the weapons arsenal for nearly two hours and project a bright beam at the munitions stores. Their handwritten KGB-supervised depositions became part of the 124-page 'Blue Folder' declassified in 1991.

The seven witnesses included two junior officers, a corporal, and four privates. KGB-supervised interrogations produced handwritten reports and observer sketches included in the file. The declassified dossier, 'Cases of Observations of Anomalous Occurrences in the Territory of the USSR, 1982–1990', covered 17 Soviet regions and was released to General Pavel Popovich, who passed it to Western researchers. Journalist George Knapp broadcast the documents via ABC News in 1994.