The Russian invasion of Ukraine greatly upsets me, as my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. I feel a connection because my father’s family is from Estonia, which also borders Russia and has a long, unhappy history of Russian domination. While Estonia today is a free republic, the assault on Ukraine understandably puts the people of all the Baltic nations on edge, even as they send aid to Ukraine.
Polish Radio 1 is pitching in with a Ukrainian-language news broadcast on longwave that can be heard across Europe, including Ukraine. These updates can be heard daily at 10 AM and 5 PM CET on 225 kHz.
Though not used for audio broadcasts in the Americas, longwave is a band that sits well below the mediumwave band that is home to AM radio. Longwave can travel longer distances than mediumwave, following the curvature over the earth and even over mountains. Though signals do not travel as far as some shortwave broadcasts. However, longwave’s advantage is a more stable signal with potentially slightly higher fidelity than shortwave. Ireland’s RTÉ 252 is another longwave station we’ve covered, which serves the Irish diaspora in the UK.
The BBC World Service has also added two shortwave broadcasts to Ukraine on 5875 kHz from 0800 to 1000 UTC and 15735 kHz from 0200 to 0400 UTC.
Long-distance radio broadcasts are particularly vital in times of war and conflict because reception is less dependent on stable power, or mobile or wired internet access. Longwave- and shortwave-capable radios are often more common in Europe than in North America, and many people there are more accustomed to turning to these bands for news and information.
News from Ukraine is broadcast to the world on Radio Ukraine International, available on satellite in Europe and online. According to the Official WSL Channel, WRMI Radio Miami International has resumed rebroadcasts of RUI on shortwave daily, except Friday, at 1200 – 1230 UTC on 5010 kHz.
