Nourali
Member
A video is currently circulating online, accompanied by imprecise or potentially misleading titles, alleging a police-recorded flying saucer sighting in Chișinău, Moldova, on June 30, 2024.
Contrary to what is circulating, it was not recorded in 2024, nor was it recorded from a police car, as some claim. The video dates back at least to the winter of 2012.
It was recorded on Cuza-Vodă Street, at the corner of Independenței (Botanica sector/46°58'56"N 28°51'40"E) in Chisinau (capital of Moldova) by a taxi driver (they used radios back then; the police are not the only ones to use them) named (allegedly) "Michania" (Мишаня).
The oldest available publication of the video date is May 8, 2012 on youtube : https://m.forum.md/ru/896124
I contacted the person who published the video in 2012, but received no response, and it is unclear whether my messages were seen.
The content remained accessible on YouTube at least until May 2016. It was re-uploaded in Russian in 2017 on Youtube and later by "Cycling and Music 1988," a local guy, who subsequently removed it as it did not align with his channel's intended content. Other random re-uploads exist.
The 2012 publication may be a re-upload itself because two locals whom I talked to dated the video between 2005 and 2010, or, for the other, around 2007 and 2008. But maybe they are mistaken.
I found no serious discussion addressing the authenticity of this video. ChatGPT 5.2 thinking (which I know is not very reliable) did not detect any clear signs of fakery. Personally, I see three arguments that raise doubts about its authenticity, but also several points that argue in its favor.
First, the movement of the flying saucer at the very beginning of the video is suspicious. It could move that way—who knows—but this aspect clearly deserves closer examination.
Second, the sighting is said to occur in broad daylight, above the Moldovan capital. Yet, apart from this video—which comes with very little additional information—there seems to be no other report or discussion about such an event. That said, this argument has limits: people may have been busy, it appears to be near sunset, the weather may have been cold, and even if someone noticed it, they might not have reported it online.
Third, if the video is genuine, one may wonder why the original uploader eventually deleted it. However, this is a weak argument, since—as mentioned earlier—one of the people who re-uploaded the video later removed it simply because it did not fit the theme of their YouTube channel. The deletion could therefore be due to lack of interest or other trivial reasons.
Arguments in favor of authenticity:
The audio is one of the most interesting elements. The person filming reacts in real time and precisely localizes what he is observing. He says it is a UFO over the Botanica sector, names the street, and—most importantly—mentions another street when the object moves away. He states that the UFO went toward Starogo (старого), now known as Strada Nicolae Zelinski.
This kind of spontaneous geographic detail strongly suggests a real-time observation rather than a staged or edited sequence. In a fabricated or composited video, the creator would have little reason—or ability—to anchor the object's movement to a precise, verifiable location, since doing so constrains the scene to a real geography. That said, this remains an indication, not definitive evidence.
The second point is that I have looked into Moldovan UFO hoaxes and did not find any that come close to this visual effect (you can check for yourself—it's actually quite amusing). If this is a hoax, then it would be a particularly good and unusual one. Still, anything is possible.
I'm sharing this here so that people with stronger expertise in fake UFO videos, visual effects, or video compositing can provide elements that either challenge or support the authenticity of this footage—and possibly also offer a more complete translation of what the person filming is saying.
Thanks in advance for your contributions.
Contrary to what is circulating, it was not recorded in 2024, nor was it recorded from a police car, as some claim. The video dates back at least to the winter of 2012.
It was recorded on Cuza-Vodă Street, at the corner of Independenței (Botanica sector/46°58'56"N 28°51'40"E) in Chisinau (capital of Moldova) by a taxi driver (they used radios back then; the police are not the only ones to use them) named (allegedly) "Michania" (Мишаня).
The oldest available publication of the video date is May 8, 2012 on youtube : https://m.forum.md/ru/896124
I contacted the person who published the video in 2012, but received no response, and it is unclear whether my messages were seen.
The content remained accessible on YouTube at least until May 2016. It was re-uploaded in Russian in 2017 on Youtube and later by "Cycling and Music 1988," a local guy, who subsequently removed it as it did not align with his channel's intended content. Other random re-uploads exist.
The 2012 publication may be a re-upload itself because two locals whom I talked to dated the video between 2005 and 2010, or, for the other, around 2007 and 2008. But maybe they are mistaken.
I found no serious discussion addressing the authenticity of this video. ChatGPT 5.2 thinking (which I know is not very reliable) did not detect any clear signs of fakery. Personally, I see three arguments that raise doubts about its authenticity, but also several points that argue in its favor.
First, the movement of the flying saucer at the very beginning of the video is suspicious. It could move that way—who knows—but this aspect clearly deserves closer examination.
Second, the sighting is said to occur in broad daylight, above the Moldovan capital. Yet, apart from this video—which comes with very little additional information—there seems to be no other report or discussion about such an event. That said, this argument has limits: people may have been busy, it appears to be near sunset, the weather may have been cold, and even if someone noticed it, they might not have reported it online.
Third, if the video is genuine, one may wonder why the original uploader eventually deleted it. However, this is a weak argument, since—as mentioned earlier—one of the people who re-uploaded the video later removed it simply because it did not fit the theme of their YouTube channel. The deletion could therefore be due to lack of interest or other trivial reasons.
Arguments in favor of authenticity:
The audio is one of the most interesting elements. The person filming reacts in real time and precisely localizes what he is observing. He says it is a UFO over the Botanica sector, names the street, and—most importantly—mentions another street when the object moves away. He states that the UFO went toward Starogo (старого), now known as Strada Nicolae Zelinski.
This kind of spontaneous geographic detail strongly suggests a real-time observation rather than a staged or edited sequence. In a fabricated or composited video, the creator would have little reason—or ability—to anchor the object's movement to a precise, verifiable location, since doing so constrains the scene to a real geography. That said, this remains an indication, not definitive evidence.
The second point is that I have looked into Moldovan UFO hoaxes and did not find any that come close to this visual effect (you can check for yourself—it's actually quite amusing). If this is a hoax, then it would be a particularly good and unusual one. Still, anything is possible.
I'm sharing this here so that people with stronger expertise in fake UFO videos, visual effects, or video compositing can provide elements that either challenge or support the authenticity of this footage—and possibly also offer a more complete translation of what the person filming is saying.
Thanks in advance for your contributions.
