WATCH: Pentagon holds briefing on UFO reports, fighting in eastern Ukraine

The U.S. has now collected 510 reports of unidentified flying objects, many of which are flying in sensitive military airspace.

Watch the briefing in the player above.

While there’s no evidence of extraterrestrials, they still pose a threat, the government said in a declassified report summary released Thursday.

Last year the Pentagon opened an office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, solely focused on receiving and analyzing all of those reports of unidentified phenomena, many of which have been reported by military pilots. It works with the intelligence agencies to further assess those incidents.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder briefing reporters Tuesday said the AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) office, “has closely worked with each of the service branches to come up with a streamlined reporting system to be able to collect that information.”

“I think one of the key points in this report, you know, given the potential hazard that UAPs do present, notably there’s been no reported collisions of military aircraft or U.S. aircraft, rather and UAPs,” he said.

READ MORE: A brief cultural history of UFOs, from secret Soviet weapons to alien visitors

The events “continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in its 2022 report.

The classified version of the report addresses how many of those objects were found near locations where nuclear power plants operate or nuclear weapons are stored.

The 510 objects include 144 objects previously reported and 366 new reports.

In both the old and new cases, after analysis, the majority have been determined to exhibit “unremarkable characteristics,” and could be characterized as unmanned aircraft systems, or balloon-like objects, the report said.

But the office is also tasked with reporting any movements or reports of objects that may indicate that a potential adversary has a new technology or capability.

The Pentagon’s anomaly office is also to include any unidentified objects moving underwater, in the air, or in space, or something that moves between those domains, which could pose a new threat.

ODNI said in its report that efforts to destigmatize reporting and emphasize that the objects may pose a threat likely contributed to the additional reports.

WATCH: Russian mercenaries claim territory in brutal, violent fight in eastern Ukraine

Meanwhile, Russia said Thursday that its forces are edging closer to capturing a salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine, which would mark an elusive victory for the Kremlin but come at the cost of heavy Russian casualties and extensive destruction of the territory they claim.

More than 100 Russian troops were killed in the battle for Soledar over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said in televised remarks.

Remarking on the escalating Russian onslaught against Ukrainian positions in Eastern Ukraine, describing the scene around Bakhmut and the nearby Donetsk province city of Soledar, known for salt mining and processing. Ryder said: “We do continue to see intense and heavy fighting around Soledar and Bakhmut which of course, is relatively close.

“We cannot corroborate any reports that Soledar has been taken by Russian forces. We did see some press reporting on that. In particular, those forces led by the Wagner group. But we do know that the Ukrainians continue to operate in the vicinity of Soledar and continue to fight back.”

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