Putin’s ‘doomsday radio’ crackles into life and broadcasts mystery codewords after Vlad’s missile bombs Poland

PUTIN’S notorious Doomsday Radio crackled into life with a chilling barrage of mystery codewords after a suspected Russian missile smashed into NATO territory in Poland. The eerie Cold War relic suddenly spewed out at least nine cryptic messages as two girls, aged five and 12, were among those killed in the strikes. Russia’s so-called Doomsday radio spewed out almost a dozen coded messages today including Motel and Bribetaker. Credit: East2West A deadly aerial assault by Vladimir Putin overnight saw two children among eight victims Among the bizarre ciphers broadcast on the frequency were BRIBETAKER, SEXFAT or SEXOFAT, MONARCHIST, MOTEL, MUZOPAYUS, STEPENNY and LEVRETKA. One chilling message included KLETKA, meaning “CELL”, while another used NEDOTEPA, roughly translating as “DIMWIT”. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The sinister flurry of activity came as NATO scrambled fighter jets after the mystery missile crossed into Polish airspace during a savage Russian assault on Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “It looks like it was a Russian missile, but we don’t have 100 per cent certainty exactly what kind of missile.” The suspected strike left a huge 33ft-wide crater near Tarnawa-Kolonia, around 56 miles from the Ukrainian border. But as tensions spiralled, Russia’s mysterious UVB-76 radio station was busy transmitting its own baffling barrage. Also known ominously as The Buzzer, Dead Hand Radio and Judgement Day Radio, UVB-76 broadcasts continuously on 4625 kHz. For most of the time, listeners hear nothing but an eerie, repetitive buzzing sound. Most read in The Sun Among the bizarre ciphers broadcast on the frequency were BRIBETAKER, SEXFAT or SEXOFAT Credit: East2West Last year, the soviet-era relic broadcasted a cryptic message around the same time of Vladimir Putin’s telephone call with Donald Trump Credit: AP But when a message is transmitted, the ghostly buzz suddenly cuts out. A Russian-speaking operator then reads out strange sequences of words, numbers and letters which sound like complete gobbledegook to anyone listening in. The meaning of the coded messages remains guarded and the station’s precise purpose has never been officially disclosed. Yet UVB-76 is widely believed to be linked to the Russian military and potentially forms part of a strategic command-and-control network. That has fuelled the chilling theory that the station could be used to send secret instructions to military units without relying on modern communications. Its high-frequency signal can travel huge distances by bouncing through the ionosphere, meaning it can cover much of Russia without satellites or the internet. Last year, the soviet-era relic broadcasted a cryptic message around the same time of Vladimir Putin’s telephone call with Donald Trump. Just ahead of the White House’s call to Putin, the UVB-76 radio station broadcast the sinister code NZhTI 89905 BLEFOPUF 4097 5573. This was followed up a few hours later with NZhTI 01263 BOLTANKA 4430 9529. Electronic warfare expert Professor David Stupples, who first heard about the mysterious frequency in the 1990s, said: “It’s a military source. So we do know that. And we know where the transmitters are in Russia.” He told The Sun the signal’s ability to travel without satellites could make it especially valuable if conventional communications were knocked out. Rescuers working outside a residential building partially destroyed during Russian missiles strikes in western Ukrainian city of Lviv Smoke rises over the village of Otrocz in eastern Poland after reports of a downed Russian missile Stupples said: “The high-frequency communications will probably get through.” That has sparked the terrifying theory that the station could serve as an emergency communications lifeline during a nuclear conflict. The expert said that in the event of a devastating nuclear war, Russia’s normal communications infrastructure could be crippled while the high-frequency signal continued operating. He explained that the system could allow Moscow to broadcast instructions across Russia even if satellite communications were lost. The chilling possibility has also fuelled its nickname Dead Hand Radio, amid speculation that it could form part of a “dead man’s switch” designed to help trigger a Russian military response if the country’s leadership were wiped out. There is no official confirmation that UVB-76 performs such a role. Stupples believes the station’s constant buzzing may instead have a far more practical purpose – reserving the frequency for Russia. He explained: “The only way that you can make certain that the band is available is to keep broadcasting on it.” He added: “So what Russia is doing is reserving this frequency.” The expert said his “own speculation” was that Moscow could be keeping the channel available for emergencies, including a worldwide conflict involving nuclear weapons or the loss of satellite communications. UVB-76 has been broadcasting since the late 1970s, making it one of the world’s most enduring and baffling radio mysteries. Its transmitters are understood to be positioned around Russia, including locations outside Moscow and St Petersburg, while its high-frequency signal can be picked up across vast distances. The station’s strange bursts of activity have often coincided with periods of acute international tension, further deepening its sinister reputation. A 33ft-wide crater pictured in the Lublin region of eastern Poland, 56 miles from the Ukrainian border Credit: East2West A Kh-101 cruise missile tore through the polish region Credit: East2West And the latest barrage comes as Putin’s war threatens to spill ever closer to NATO’s doorstep. The suspected missile incursion happened during a ferocious Russian assault in which more than 70 missiles and 280 attack drones were reportedly launched at Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “A Russian missile strike in Radushne, Dnipropetrovsk region, killed parents and three children.” The Kremlin has repeatedly threatened retaliation against the West, while Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has warned Putin could stage a “false flag” attack on Russian territory and blame NATO. Sikorski said: “I expect an attack on Russian territory under a false flag, to which Putin will ‘respond’.” Putin has himself warned: “They understand that retaliation will follow. I think everyone understands this, or should understand it.” Comment now