BBC website ‘blocked’ in Russia as shortwave radio brought back to cover Ukraine war
Access to BBC websites has been restricted in Russia, hours after the corporation brought back its shortwave radio service in
Ukraine and Russia to ensure civilians in both countries can access news during the invasion.
State communications watchdog Roskomnadzor restricted access to BBC Russia’s online presence, as well as Radio Liberty and the Meduza media outlet, the state-owned Russian RIA news agency reported on Friday.
According to Globalcheck, a service that tracks internet censorship in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the availability of the entire
BBC website was at 17% of normal levels in Russia, which suggests some services have been blocked.
BBC Russia also reported that Meta, formerly known as Facebook, also appeared to be blocked, as was Google Play.
The signs the BBC was being blocked emerged hours after the BBC’s decision to revert to a mostly obsolete form of broadcasting, broadcasting four hours of its world service, read in English, to Ukraine and parts of Russia each day.
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The BBC’s shortwave radio broadcast can be found on 15735 kHz from 6pm to 8pm and on 5875 kHz from midnight to 2am, Ukraine time.
The BBC’s move to bring back shortwave came days after Russia
launched two missiles on Kyiv’s TV tower, killing five people and knocking out some access to news and broadcasts.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, wrote on Twitter that the Kremlin was preparing to cut off communications and spread “massive fake messages that the country’s leadership has given up”.
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The BBC has reported huge increases in its audiences in Ukraine and Russia since the invasion began. In the last week of February, viewership of BBC’s Ukrainian language website more than doubled from a year earlier to 3.9 million visitors. Its Russian-language website has reached a record 10.7 million visitors over the past week, more than tripling its weekly 2022 average.
Shortwave radio uses frequencies that can travel long distances and are accessible on portable radios, making it the go-to method to reach listeners in conflict zones throughout history. Shortwave was used extensively in
Europe to broadcast propaganda during the second world war, and usage peaked during the cold war.
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And thanks for the prayers - so far so good. 
