Last updated: October 23, 2026
Breaking: An independent science filmmaker says Russia and China are preparing to announce UAP evidence “very soon,” to embarrass the United States. The claim, reported by the Daily Mail on October 19 and amplified by a NIGHT SHIFT video on October 22, rests on a single anonymous source. There is no evidence behind it yet. Here is what was actually said, what can be verified, and why it matters for the race over UAP disclosure.
Key takeaways
- Simon Holland says an anonymous radio-telescope specialist told him Russia and China will make a UAP announcement soon.
- The Daily Mail says there is no confirmation and no proof of intelligent signals.
- The Russian RT-70 telescope in Crimea was destroyed by a Ukrainian drone in 2025, a verified fact.
- Rep. Eric Burlison has warned of a transparency “arms race,” while saying he is still a skeptic.
- Holland made a similar prediction in October 2024 that did not materialize.
What Simon Holland claims
According to the Daily Mail, Holland, an independent science filmmaker, says a European radio-telescope specialist contacted him over Zoom while working in the Far East. The source allegedly said Russia and China will make a UAP announcement “very soon,” intended to embarrass the US. Holland also relayed claims that a Russian “quantum communication device” detected signals, that France is aware of the matter, and that governments hold biological remains and crashed craft debris. The Daily Mail noted that none of this is confirmed and that quantum-tunnelling faster-than-light claims remain unproven. The Daily Mail headline presents Holland as someone who “worked with NASA,” but Holland said in a NIGHT SHIFT episode on October 23 that he is not a NASA scientist. He explained that he makes films for the ATLAS asteroid-survey team in Hawaii, which is funded by NASA, so the link is indirect.
The story spread widely after the NIGHT SHIFT channel published “Disclosure Is Coming From China and Russia, Not America” on October 22. That video builds on Holland’s account and adds commentary. It is commentary, not new evidence.
The theme had surfaced earlier. On October 8, The Mirror US published a report by Michael Moran and Hannah Broughton, headlined “Russia and China ‘ready to embarrass Trump’ with bombshell UFO disclosure, claims researcher.” It describes an unnamed-in-the-headline UFO researcher claiming the two countries are ready to disclose contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, in a move reportedly meant to embarrass Trump and the US government. We have not read the full Mirror text. Holland said on the NIGHT SHIFT show that he was interviewed by the Mirror about this, so he may be the researcher, but we could not confirm that, and the claim carries the same lack of evidence.
In that same NIGHT SHIFT episode, Holland described his contact as the leading person at METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence), a group that split from SETI. He said the Crimea dish was the instrument that contact used, that METI later struck a deal to move its work to a Chinese telescope, and that a listening device based on quantum tunnelling, a technique associated with physicist Gunter Nimtz, was strapped onto the dish and “they heard signals.” These are Holland’s statements about what his source told him. No data or independent confirmation has been published.
The Crimea telescope: what is verified
One detail in the story can be checked. Space.com reported that Ukrainian forces destroyed the RT-70 radio telescope near Yevpatoria, Crimea, in late August 2025. The 70-meter dish had been under Russian control since 2014 and, in the 1999 to 2008 period, sent messages toward other star systems. Holland’s source claims the effort then moved to China’s FAST telescope in Guizhou. That second step is unverified.
The disclosure race in Washington
The claim lands in a political context already focused on transparency. Rep. Eric Burlison told the New York Post that the US risks a “blemish” on transparency if China or Russia disclose crash evidence first, as reported by IBTimes UK and in the New York Post interview as republished by DNYUZ. Burlison also said he remains a skeptic until he sees evidence himself. Earlier this year the White House ordered the release of UAP files, and the PURSUE batches have been published since May. Our own coverage of the Pentagon UFO files and the UFO disclosure push before the midterms covers that record.
Reasons for caution
Holland has made a comparable prediction before. In October 2024 he said an announcement of alien-signal evidence was coming within a month. It did not happen, and astronomer Chris Lintott publicly disputed the claim. A single anonymous source, relayed secondhand, cannot be checked by anyone, and no Russian or Chinese official has said anything of the kind. Readers should treat this as an allegation worth watching, not an established event.
That said, official US explanations have repeatedly fallen short, and a rival government choosing to speak first is not impossible on its face. The right posture is to wait for documents, data or on-record statements.
What to watch next
Watch for on-record statements from Russian or Chinese agencies, any release of telescope data, and responses from Congress. We will update this report if verifiable evidence appears.
Who is Simon Holland and what did he claim?
Simon Holland is an independent science filmmaker. He told the Daily Mail an anonymous specialist said Russia and China will announce UAP evidence soon. No evidence was provided.
Is there proof that Russia and China will announce UAP evidence?
No. The claim comes from one anonymous source and the Daily Mail itself reported no confirmation.
What happened to the RT-70 telescope in Crimea?
A Ukrainian drone destroyed it in late August 2025, according to Space.com. That part is verified.
Why does Rep. Eric Burlison talk about an arms race?
He warned the US could lose face on transparency if rivals disclose first, while saying he remains a skeptic until he sees evidence.
Sources for this article
Daily Mail, “I worked with NASA. Total UFO disclosure is finally happening” (October 19, 2026); NIGHT SHIFT video (October 22, 2026); Space.com on the RT-70 strike; The Mirror US on the October 8 report; IBTimes UK on Burlison; New York Post interview as republished by DNYUZ; Chris Lintott on X.
