The BBC World Service will use shortwave radio to deliver trustworthy news to Russians, now that the Kremlin is blocking Western media websites’ reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This was a propaganda tactic used in World War 2. The broadcaster stopped shortwave transmissions to Europe in 2008.
The broadcaster announced it is broadcasting four hours of English news daily on two shortwave frequencies, both of which “can be received clearly in Kyiv and parts of Russia,” said a BBC media release. The additional shortwave frequencies are on 15735 kHz operating from 1600 to 1800 UTC and on 5875 kHz from 2200 to 0000 UTC.
On March 1, two Russian projectiles struck the main radio and television tower in Kyiv, killing two people. Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defence minister, wrote on Twitter that Russia’s goal was “to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people and army,” starting with “a breakdown of connection” and “the spread of massive FAKE messages that the Ukrainian country leadership has agreed to give up.”
As it is widely believed that Russia dismantled its shortwave jamming transmitters in the 1990’s, these new broadcasts should easily be received, even inside Russia.
Over the last week of February, viewership of BBC’s online Ukrainian language site more than doubled from a year earlier to 3.9 million visitors, the broadcaster said Wednesday. The BBC also provides news coverage in the country via its website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Viber, and Espreso TV.
The BBC’s coverage has led to complaints from Russian officials. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said during a briefing broadcast by RT, the Kremlin-backed Russian media outlet, that Russia was the victim of “unprecedented information terrorism” that was “devoted to discrediting Russian actions” and “creating hysteria around Ukrainian events.”
The BBC “plays a determined role in undermining Russian stability and security,” Zakharova said, without providing evidence.
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