Russian 'Doomsday Radio' buzzes again, transmits two coded messages: LISTEN!

A mysterious Russian radio station broadcasting static since the 1970s, sent out two cryptic messages on Monday (Sep 8), breaking away from the usual buzzing sound. A video of the messages went viral on social media, with users raising concerns that Moscow could be up to something big. Who the messages spoken in Russian were addressed to is unclear. The shortwave station is also known as "Doomsday Radio" since some people believe it is linked to Russia's nuclear command system. The Cold War-era radio station is around 18 miles from Moscow and is reportedly part of a secret military communications network. The cryptic messages consisted of numbers and letters as codewords. One of them includes the call sign "NZHTI," which has been used before, on May 19, when US President Donald Trump was speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone. Then there was "HOTEL," and the numbers, 38, 965, 78, 58, 88, 37.

Also Read: ‘Doomsday Clock’ ticking towards midnight, must avert nuclear catastrophe, warns Russia

The messages triggered chatter on the internet as soon as it was revealed that the doomsday radio had once again interrupted the buzzing sound. A user wrote on X, "Those codewords sound straight out of a Cold War thriller. Who's listening and why now?" Freelance radio monitor Ary Boender from Holland told Popular Mechanics that some think it is "an old Soviet Dead Man's Switch that triggers a nuclear attack on the west when it stops buzzing." Other theories she has heard include it being a beacon for UFOs, or "a mind control device with which the Russians can program your mind." However, these are all theories since the radio is shrouded in mystery and its true purpose has never been revealed. Also Read: 'Doomsday cloud' seen in Maryland triggers panic amid storm and tornado watch

Hear the messages in the post below

Is the Russian government using the "Doomsday Radio"?

Meanwhile, experts believe that the Russian government is using the radio station. Professor David Stupples, an electronic and radio engineering professor at the City University of London, told the publication that the Cold War-era station has presumably been kept active "as a fail-safe in case of nuclear war." He added that if the Russian government is using the "Doomsday Radio", "it wouldn't be for peaceful purposes."

The last time the radio buzzed was when Trump and Putin got on the phone in May. Two cryptic messages transmitted were - "NZhTI 89905 BLEFOPUF 4097 5573" and "NZhTI 01263 BOLTANKA 4430 9529." The coded messages remain undeciphered, just like the recent one likely would.

What is the Russia Doomsday Radio?

Its official and original call sign is UVB-76, in 1982. Researchers first took note of the mysterious radio was in 1982 when it buzzed a series of beeps. In 1992, 25 buzzing sounds, each less than a second long, were transmitted every minute. A horn sound accompanied it. Each time the radio buzzed, the tone and pitch differed, likely because of the encoding. Stupples and other researchers say this diversity in sound in UVB-76 is "highly unusual" if all it was delivering were regular messages.