Belgium news reported Russian ‘Dooms-day radio’ UVB-76 sending increased radio traffic Open Source (OS) reporting.
Brussels (18/4). Four words. Nothing more. But enough to stir speculation. And that may be exactly the point. On April 15, UVB-76 broadcast the words “Neptune,” “Thymus,” “Foxcloak,” and “Nootabu” — four cryptic terms, spoken in the familiar monotone hum on 4625 kHz. What they mean? That remains a mystery for now. But the timing is striking.
UVB-76 has been transmitting a short, rhythmic hum almost continuously since the late 1970s. Every now and then it is interrupted by voice messages: names, numbers, strange words. What they mean exactly, nobody knows. And that is precisely why all kinds of theories have been circulating for years about the function of the radio station.
In a forest north of Moscow, a mysterious shortwave radio station transmitted day and night. For at least the decade leading up to 1992, it broadcast almost nothing but beeps; after that, it switched to buzzes, generally between 21 and 34 per minute, each lasting roughly a second—a nasally foghorn blaring through a crackly ether. The signal was said to emanate from the grounds of a voyenni gorodok (mini military city) near the village of Povarovo the station cracked out its messages.
So far the official reporting. The comeback of the old number stations is not an relic from the days of spy versus spy. It is part of the intelligence network capability of the Russian Federation.
Many of the western intelligence and military services abandoned the dit,dot, dot of the morse code for digital methods. And hence were exposed to interception. The Russian as it seems went the other way. Staying on the old course of what has been a proven system Russian and Chinese intelligence services stayed with what works.
In 2011 German police raided the house of Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag. Both were identified operating a slow digital MFSK receiver in XPA mode. The Russian SVR attempted to extract the two agents. The efforts failed as the police raided the house at 06:30 in the morning. Heidrun Anschlag was caught sitting with everything ready to transmit and receive.
The last transmission was sent on 7 June 2012. Paul Beaumont from ENIGMA 2000 declared the German agents were using the XPA schedule with certainty. Officials belief Russian agent networks are behind the XPA stations.
It was reportedly used by the KGB during the Cold War, and has never stopped transmitting since. Some experts believe the transmitter serves as a communication channel with secret military units, or even as part of an automatic retaliation system, a so-called dead man’s switch that would be activated if the Russian top brass were taken out in an attack.
Officially, Moscow is silent about it. Yet the channel has developed an ominous reputation. Just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, experts recorded unusually high activity on the frequency, culminating in the word “neuderzhimy,” (неудержимый), Russian for “unstoppable.”
Once again, UVB-76 seems to be more active than usual. In February of this year, more than twenty short messages were sent out in one day. An absolute record. And remarkably, exactly on the day that Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump.
Plants or military code?
The recent words have fueled speculation. Some suspect the terms refer to plants with specific flowering times and could therefore be code for a planned military operation in the spring. But military experts are tempering speculation: although the words are unusual, they may not be true.
“There’s probably nothing behind it,” say strategists at Canadian strategy center Prime Rogue Inc. But the channel is being taken seriously, not because it says anything, but because it has been active for five decades.
Professor David Stupples, an expert in electronic warfare, calls UVB-76 “one of the few tools that Russia can use without relying on satellites or the Internet.” According to him, UVB-76’s strength lies in its simplicity: the high-frequency signal covers the entire Russian territory. Crucial in a scenario where satellite communications fail, such as in the event of a nuclear war.
According to Stupples, the reason Russia keeps the frequency occupied is simple: “If you don’t keep transmitting, someone else can hijack the frequency.” So the station keeps humming. Every day. Every hour. Without explanation. And that makes UVB-76 perhaps the most mysterious remnant of the Cold War that is still very much alive.
Wider implication for Asia
We are At War. Political considerations aside, the Ukrainian armed forces making in routes against the Russians. Food prices in Russia are 30-40% higher and the Rouble was in a freefall. Despite the assurances by President Putin the war is widening with China, North Korea and the high seas. Russian peace is not the paper it is writen on and the war goes on.
If the war continues the global resources will be under threat. Russian naval activities are expanding to Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and elsewhere. The Russian Federation has standing agreements with African countries and in the past years the presence of Russian naval assets are troubling signs ahead.
Malaysia has considerable investment in Africa. Hence targeting these oil and gas assets serve the Russian narrative. Interrupting the business flows are out of the Russian playbook.
The same goes for the lucrative LNG market. Russian calculi aims in none attributable actions aimed as accidents or other deniable actions. Hence watching the number stations is prudent investment.
