Boris Zolotaryov, a resident of Belgorod District, was digging a trench in the yard of his home in the village of Dragunskoye-75 when he made an unexpected discovery. At a depth of about 70 centimetres, he struck a metal object that extended deep into the ground. He stopped trying to dig it out himself after discovering artillery shells and immediately reported the find to the emergency service at 112.

Explosive ordnance specialists from the regional search-and-rescue service arrived at the scene. They recovered three artillery shells dating from the Second World War and continued surveying the area.

The mysterious metal object turned out to be a German FlaK 88 anti-aircraft gun, measuring approximately five metres in length. German forces used this weapon not only against aircraft but also as an anti-tank gun, capable of hitting armoured targets at distances of up to three kilometres.

Despite spending decades buried underground, the cannon was remarkably well preserved. Such discoveries are rare in the Belgorod region, where excavations usually uncover only fragments of guns damaged by Soviet artillery. Specialists believe this weapon may have been abandoned after being hit, as transporting it would have been difficult.

Emergency personnel carefully extracted the cannon, fearing that unexploded ammunition might remain inside, but fortunately, no explosive items were found in the gun itself. The two-tonne weapon was lifted from the ground using specialised equipment provided by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in Belgorod Region and transferred to the Prokhorovka Field State Military History Museum and Nature Reserve.