Declassified Russian Navy records compiled under Deputy Commander Admiral Nikolay Smirnov document dozens of encounters by Soviet submarines and surface ships with fast-moving unidentified submerged objects, including a Pacific Ocean incident in which six objects traveling at an estimated 230 knots followed a nuclear submarine to the surface before ascending and departing.

The records were released publicly circa 2009, confirmed by former navy officer and researcher Vladimir Azhazha and Rear Admiral Yury Beketov, who described instrument malfunctions and interference on submarines he commanded. Captain 1st Rank Igor Barklay (Navy intelligence) corroborated the pattern of USO activity in multiple ocean regions. Azhazha estimated that 50% of Russian UAP encounters involve oceans and 15% involve lakes. Russian Navy officials officially denied the existence of the compiled collection while the records themselves circulated through Russian media.