Glowing Light Columns Reported Over Minsk, Belarus

This scan turned up one new report that met our bar: glowing vertical columns of light seen over Minsk, Belarus. Here's what was reported, how much it can be checked, and the most likely explanation.

Glowing light columns reported over Minsk, Belarus (Oct 28)

What was reported: On October 28, 2026, residents in several parts of Minsk said they saw tall columns of light in the night sky. Some appeared alone and some in pairs. Witnesses quoted by the Belarusian site Onliner said the columns appeared and then faded away.

Where and when: Several neighborhoods of Minsk, on the night of October 28. The independent outlet Nasha Niva reported it on October 29. No exact times or locations were given.

Evidence: A local news report with a photo, plus several social media posts from residents. No video was cited, and there was no official statement or instrument data.

Verifiability: Moderate. Several independent residents saw it, and a local outlet covered it with a photo. The witnesses are not named.

Likely ordinary explanation: Light pillars. These form on cold nights when flat ice crystals hang in the air and reflect light from streetlights, searchlights or other ground sources. They show up as straight vertical beams that seem to rise from the city. Nasha Niva described the columns as this optical effect, and Minsk has been photographed with them on cold nights before. Light pillars come and go as the crystals drift. That would explain why witnesses said the columns appeared and then faded. Nothing reported points to a craft or a solid object.

What we passed on

We also looked at several other stories circulating this week. We left them out because they were recycled older events, single anonymous reports, or commentary with no new sighting. One example is a Wyoming piece on historical missile-base incidents.

Saw something yourself?

If you've seen strange lights, run what you saw through our Is It a UFO? checker. It walks you through the common explanations first, like satellites, planets, drones and atmospheric effects. To document a sighting, a steady shot helps a lot. A simple phone tripod makes night footage far more useful. Note the time, your location and the direction you were facing.

Sources: Nasha Niva: "Illusion, anomaly, UFO? A mysterious glow was noticed in the sky over Minsk" (Oct 29, 2026); Euroradio: earlier light-pillar event over Minsk, with physicist's explanation.