Volodia Startshev

Startsev was reportedly 12 years old and a seventh-grade student at School No. 33 in Voronezh at the time of the incident. Accounts identify him as being among a group of boys who were in the park during the reported UFO encounter.

His testimony is particularly notable because he described the encounter in considerably more detail than the short versions that appeared in international press reports.

According to a published account attributed to Startsev, on September 28, 1989, he went to the park with Alyosha Nikonov and Sergei Makarov after skipping a foreign-language class. At approximately 3:30 p.m., he said they saw a large sphere moving slowly over the area. He described it as pink and changing color, with what appeared to be a "Ж"-shaped feature in the middle and two antennas on one side. He said the object passed over a light pole and landed near a poplar tree.

Startsev's account went on to describe:

A hatch opening on the object.
A ladder descending from the craft.
Two humanoid figures emerging, accompanied by what he described as a robot.
The humanoids carrying the robot out and apparently activating it by pressing controls on its chest.
The robot subsequently walking in a human-like manner.
One of the humanoid figures approaching Startsev and extending a hand toward him.
Startsev becoming frightened and climbing a tree to get away.
A humanoid with three eyes, including a distinctive red central eye.
The figures subsequently approaching Alyosha Nikonov, who reportedly ran toward home.

There is also a separate account attributed to Startsev in which he said that when the beings emerged, he became "immobile" or "paralyzed" from fear, and that after they left he experienced dizziness and a headache.

His drawing

Startsev is also associated with a drawing of the reported UFO. Accounts reproducing the witness material identify it specifically as "Volodia Startshev drawing."