UVB-76 Waking Up?

UVB-76, variously called "MDZhB", "The Buzzer", and has been coined "the Doomsday Radio Station" in the media, is a military shortwave radio state that began operating in 1976 and broadcasts in Upper Side Band mode on the frequency of 4625 kHz (wavelength of 64.8 m). Per the Wikipedia article on it, "[i]t broadcasts a short, monotonous buzz tone, repeating at a rate of approximately 25 tones per minute, 24 hours per day," or "sometimes cartoon character Yosemite Sam saying 'Varmint, I'm a-gonna b-b-b-bloooow ya ta'smithereenies'." But as the article goes on to explain, starting in 1997, the buzzing signal would sometimes be interrupted by a voice transmission in Russian. There are three main formats of the voice transmissions, although there have been a few exceptions, believed to have been inadvertent transmissions or someone hijacking the frequency. 

    Two common theories for the station are that it is used to transmit messages to spies; or that it is a "deadhand" station intended to trigger a Soviet/Russian military response should it go dead. Per the Wikipedia article, however, the first is unlikely because of the low power of the transmission which limits its range and the voice broadcasts are at irregular times; and the second is unlikely because the station has gone off the air several times (for instance, the station suddenly went radio silent for 24 hours on June 5, 2010).

    Another theory is that the Russian military is broadcasting on the frequency to preserve its use: that by broadcasting continuously, they prevent someone else from "poaching" the frequency. The source of the signal had allegedly been narrowed down to a location near Povarovo, Russia, about halfway between Zelenograd and Solnechnogorsk - 6.2 miles northwest of Moscow, but then was apparently moved in September 2010. "The station then popped up near the city of Saint Petersburg and the village of Kerro Massiv - possibly the result of widespread reorganization of the Russian military seen that year," reports the Daily Mail, adding that "[a]s of writing [October 2024], The Buzzer now appears to be broadcast solely from the 69th Communication Hub in Moscow, possibly due to more reorganization efforts for the particular area, in the Moscow Military District."

• More: "Dead Hand Or Something Else? A Possible Explanation For Strange Numbers Station UVB-76"--IFL Science. 

    However, the station appears to have become more active recently. On March 4, 2025, EurAsia Daily (a Russian news site) reported that the station had become sharply more active in February:

    The so-called "Doomsday Radio Station" UVB-76 became sharply more active in February 2025. This is evidenced by the logs of the ether, which are maintained in the Telegram channel "UVB-76 logs".

    During the month, the station aired 46 times. A record number of 25 messages were sent to UVB—76 on February 12. Then the words "coarsening", "child", "suckling", "buinaksk", "optoshum", "offspring", "sortostage", "yeletsobazaz", "shtatognom", "menrosharzh", "commissar", "zhadyuga", "long", "khrushchoplob" were transmitted. On this day, the Presidents of the United States and Russian President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation.

    The last messages were heard on March 3. The words "iotolast" and "runic" got on the air.

The article cited unnamed experts who warned against panic and assured that "UVB-76 is in no way connected with the Russian nuclear deterrent forces."

    And, earlier today, the British paper, The Express, reported that "Russia's doomsday radio wakes up and sends four eerie cryptic messages." From the article:

    ... On Tuesday, the station signalled four words, according to Telegram channel UVB-76 logs. These were: Neptune, Thymus, Foxcloak, and Nootabu.

    The channel, which constantly logs the station’s activity, said the radio buzzed the eerie messages within 24 hours, which is highly unusual. Speculation over the meaning behind the signals include codes for secret military operations, yet its purpose remains a mystery. ...

The article adds:

In February, UVB-76 released a staggering 25 messages within 24 hours, according to Russian state media, which include: Synopsis, Boulevard, Coarsening, B*******, Optoshum, Elecbase, Shtatognome Commissar and Volkokran.