The Guardian reports that the BBC has restored shortwave services to the Ukraine. Apparently access to its website has dropped to 17% of normal levels. The Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor has restricted access to the BBC website from Russia.
Facebook(Meta) and Google Play have also been blocked along with some other western websites. Deutsche Welle has also reported its website has been blocked in Russia. This is consistent with the recent clampdown on access to western media and reporting, even in Russia, by Russian authorities. Unfortunately media in Ukraine has also been targeted as seen with the stunning images of the Russian missile attacks on Kyiv's TV tower.
BBC shortwave broadcasts in Ukrainian are reported to be as follows:
- 15735 kHz from 1800-2000 Ukrainian Time;
- 5875 kHz from midnight to 0200 Ukrainian Time.
The BBC ended its shortwave broadcasting to Europe in 2008.
YARS commented on the general trend away from shortwave broadcasting towards internet-based services at http://www.ykars.com/index.php/amateur-radio/shortwave-listening-dxing . As with the Arab Spring, it is clear that it is possible for internet services to be switched-off or access restricted. This is not the case with shortwave radio transmissions, although they could be jammed. Shortwave listening (or DXing) is of course, a large part of the hobby of amateur radio - monitoring (the other half being transmitting on the radio spectrum).