Short Wave revives in times of war

Faced with Russia's blocking of media websites following its invasion of Ukraine, European broadcasters are strengthening their Shortwave service to ensure that civilians in both countries can access the latest news during the war.

The Russian attack on the kyiv communications tower has silenced several television channels. The Internet and social networks are easily controllable, and the telecommunications infrastructures that provide Internet service are very vulnerable to attack.

Shortwave signals can be easily received with affordable receivers y can't be controlled who is listening to them, unlike online radio broadcasts.

It should be noted that Short Wave was widely used in Europe to transmit propaganda during World War II, and its use peaked during the Cold War.

But with the development of radio technology and the mass adoption of online news, shortwave fell into oblivion around the world. After 76 years, the BBC World Service stopped broadcasting on shortwave to Europe in 2008. In the case of Radio Nacional de España, its service has remained active until today.

On the part of RTVE, Foreign Radio of Spain, the international channel of Radio Nacional de España, offers an open window to truthful information with Short Wave broadcasts in Spanish and Russian.

REE transmits its programming on Short Wave from its broadcasting center in Noblejas (Toledo) to Ukraine and Russia, thus preventing any type of control or censorship by the Russian army. Any citizen from the war zone can access a source of verified, serious, truthful and honest information.

Broadcasting in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Sephardic and Russian, Radio Exterior de España offers its listeners the transmission of all national and international events that arouse the interest of world public opinion regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its consequences at a global level. A work that is enriched by the live testimony of the correspondents and special envoys of Radio Nacional de España to the conflict zone and its area of ​​influence.

Radio Exterior de España broadcasts on Short Wave for Ukraine and Russia are broadcast in Spanish from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Spanish time (4:00 p.m. to 0:00 a.m. UTC time) and in Russian from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Spanish time (6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. UTC time).

BBC on Short Wave

Following the first signs of website blocking by Russia, the British public broadcaster BBC has “dusted off” its Shortwave service by broadcasting four hours a day of its global service in English, to Ukraine and parts of Russia.

“It is often said that truth is the first victim of war,” said the director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, when announcing the measure this Thursday. “In a conflict rife with misinformation and propaganda, there is a clear need for objective, independent news that people can trust… millions more Russians turn to the BBC.”

The BBC shortwave radio broadcast can be found on the frequency 15735 kHz from 6pm to 8pm and on the frequency 5875kHz from midnight to 2am Ukrainian time.