Russia’s ‘Doomsday Radio’ began broadcasting a series of cryptic messages as world leaders including Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump met at a crucial NATO summit
Vladimir Putin’s bizarre ‘Doomsday Radio’ has started broadcasting dozens of mysterious coded messages today as NATO leaders met in The Hague to discuss the war in Ukraine.
World leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump gathered for a summit in The Hague today with the European conflict high up on the agenda – and it appears the meeting sparked a reaction from inside the Kremlin. Russia’s UVB-76 radio station, also known as ‘The Buzzer’, was first set up in the Cold War, and is typically activated at moments of high tension on the international stage.
Its broadcasts are thought to be related to a strategic communication test involving multiple military units, the start of a nuclear command-and-control exercise, or internal military readiness checks.They also might indicate training involving Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) or General Staff.
But they are not currently decodable without classified keys, and carry no meaningful content to the average listener. The station – and known as Dead Hand Radio or Judgement Day Radio – has existed since the Cold War more than 50 years ago, but its purpose remains classified.
One theory is that it is a “dead man’s switch”, automatically triggering a military response possibly to nuclear attack. Today’s splurge of messages equals the highest number sent in a short period since the end of the Cold War.
Among the translations of code words appearing in Russian in today’s output are the words ‘Narcissus, Blooming, Meticulous, Caviar, Cognac, Sweetness and Lisbon’. Other words were nonsensical.
Earlier this week, Doomsday radio broadcast the word Otniatiye – or ‘taking away’. In its original Russian, the word mean to take away life, or hope. The station has previously been active this year around the time of telephone calls on the war in Ukraine between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The signals it broadcasts can be sent without the internet or satellite. Its transmission tower is believed to be located northwest of Moscow, in a military zone classified during the Cold War.
NATO countries pledge to spend more at key summit
At the summit in the The Hague today, key NATO allies agreed to a significant boost in defence spending in the wake of Russia’s military buildup and its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Last night, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Britain will help bolster Ukraine’s air defences by using £70million of seized Russian assets to pay for ASRAAM missiles.
He said: “Russia, not Ukraine, should pay the price for Putin’s barbaric and illegal war, so it is only right we use the proceeds from seized Russian assets to ensure Ukraine has the air defence it needs.
“The security of Ukraine is vital to the security of the UK and the Euro-Atlantic area, and our support will never waiver.
“My message to President Putin is clear: Russia needs to stop its indiscriminate attacks on innocent Ukrainian people and return to the negotiating table.”