Poison on the airwaves

On World Radio Day, we examine how Russian state-controlled radio spreads disinformation about the EU, while occupying forces weaponize radio frequencies in Ukraine to silence independent voices and amplify Kremlin narratives.

World Radio Day is an annual celebration established by UNESCO in 2011 to recognise radio’s enduring role as one of the world’s most reliable and widely accessible forms of media. According to recent polling by the Levada Centre, a majority (60%) of Russians say TV is their main source of information, whereas only 10% say they get information from radio. Respondents also use social networks, online publications, and the Telegram messenger app more than radio.

Feeding lies to every last Russian

Yet radio remains a crucial tool to reach audiences in remote areas. State-owned stations such as Vesti FM, ‘Radio of Russia’, and Mayak reach 98% of Russian territory and even people who might not have access to TV and the internet. Other notable stations are Kommersant FM, Business FM, Govorit Moskva and Radio Sputnik, part of the same influence operation as RT.

Different medium, same deception

This week we listened to what Russian state radio had to say about the EU and EU member states. Unsurprisingly, we found the Russian airwaves full of the same deceitful toxic sludge as elsewhere.

On the show Soloviev Live (Vesti FM, 11.02.2025), propagandists Sergey Mikheyev and Roman Golovanov painted the EU as ‘powerless’ and ‘crumbling under internal divisions’. Mikheyev claimed that ‘dark times’ were ahead for Europe, arguing that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was showing the way forward by pursuing independent ties with the United States rather than aligning with Brussels.

Mikheyev pushed nuclear fearmongering to the extremes, warning that if negotiations between Russia and the West fail, Ukraine’s leadership could be ‘ruthlessly destroyed’ and Russia could move toward the ‘total annihilation’ of the country with nuclear warfare.

Presenting the EU as powerless

Depicting Europe as declining and powerless is a familiar theme in pro-Kremlin media and often repeated on radio shows as well. On Formula Smysla (Vesti FM, 10.02.2025), propagandists Dmitry Kulikov and Fyodor Lukyanov claimed that Europe is ‘cosying up to Big Brother’ in Washington, desperate to maintain American security guarantees as its own military capabilities fall short.

They further asserted that the EU has been ‘devalued to a non-entity’ in global affairs, suggesting that future security negotiations will take place solely between the US and Russia – leaving European leaders sidelined.

Prattling about ‘economic piracy’

Radio shows are also being used to attack EU member states, according to recent events. On the Evrozona show (Vesti FM, 08.02.2025) host Vladimir Sergienko painted the Baltic states as aggressors, accusing them of preparing for war against Russia by cutting off Russian energy supplies and purchasing Western military equipment.

Sergienko also accused Denmark of engaging in ‘economic piracy’ by tightening controls on Russian oil shipments through the Baltic Sea. The Danish Maritime Authority’s move to enforce stricter inspections on aging Russian tankers was framed as an attack on Russia’s economy – another example of how pro-Kremlin outlets repurpose legitimate actions as supposed Western aggression.

Radio is used to make sure such manipulative narratives reach every last person within Russia. That also includes the areas Russia has occupied in Ukraine. In such conflict zones with frequent power and internet outages, radio is sometimes the only remaining reliable source of information.

Jamming radio hope

Residents of occupied regions liberated by the Ukrainian army in the fall of 2022 said that listening to Ukrainian radio gave them hope that they had not been forgotten. Radio broadcasts can be received by relatively simple battery-powered receivers and do not depend on infrastructure in the occupied territory itself. In 2023 the Lithuanian Ministry of Communications financed Ukrainian broadcasts aimed at the occupied territories from Lithuania.

Yet for that very reason, one of the first things the occupying Russians did was jam Ukrainian broadcasts and seize control of TV and radio stations. By 2023, they had established a pro-Russian network of news sources that included stations like Za! Radio Melitopol, designed to flood occupied territories with Kremlin propaganda. This process continues, with the occupiers modernising TV and radio infrastructure to tighten their information grip.

Rewriting broadcasting rules

A key part of this takeover involves reassigning seized Ukrainian radio frequencies to Russian-controlled broadcasters. In December 2023, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor formally transferred radio frequencies in Melitopol and Berdiansk to Radio Crimea, a propaganda station financed by the occupation authorities in Crimea. This was part of a broader effort in which Russian authorities allocated 105 frequencies across occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea to pro-Kremlin outlets.

The move violates international regulations, as the unauthorised use of frequencies without approval from Ukraine’s National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting contravenes the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Charter. Ukrainian regulators have condemned these actions, warning that Russia is attempting to rewrite international broadcasting rules to justify the illegal use of the radio spectrum in occupied territories.

Kremlin narratives remain inescapable

By erasing independent voices and replacing them with state-sponsored propaganda, Russia ensures that even in areas where electricity and internet access are unreliable, Kremlin narratives remain inescapable.

Don’t be deceived.

Also picked up by our disinfo antenna this week:

• EU imposes sanctions if partners cooperate with other countries Pro-Kremlin outlets often falsely claim that the EU imposes sanctions on countries simply for cooperating with others, unlike Russia, which supposedly supports ‘multipolarity’. This particular claim was based on a statement by EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan, who warned Kazakh companies that they could face restrictions if found aiding Russia’s war effort. Pro-Kremlin outlets framed this as proof of the EU punishing Kazakhstan for maintaining economic ties with Moscow. This is a recurring disinformation narrative attempting to discredit EU sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU does not impose extraterritorial sanctions but works with Kazakhstan to prevent its territory from being used to circumvent restrictions. EU officials have repeatedly stated they respect Kazakhstan’s decision not to join sanctions and that any restrictive measures only apply to entities proven to be involved in illicit trade benefiting Russia’s military-industrial complex.
• Baltic states are starting mass deportations of Russian-speaking populations Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania remain high on the hit list of the pro-Kremlin disinformation system, also in the context of their decoupling from the Russian energy grid last week. A Belarusian outlet claimed that the Baltic states are ‘totalitarian’, ‘Russophobic’ and launching mass deportations of Russian-speaking populations as part of a so-called ‘ethnocide.’ Portraying Russian speakers as victims of systematic oppression is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative. The Baltic states uphold democratic values and rank among the freest countries in the world, according to Freedom House.
• Russian civilisation is unique in treating all people equally While ‘the West’ is supposedly racist and regards others as ‘barbarians’, Russia is uniquely virtuous and treats all people as equals, at least according to pro-Kremlin disinformation claims. This false narrative presents Russia as morally superior to Western societies, reinforcing the idea that ‘Russian civilisation’ stands apart from the rest of the world. This standard Kremlin propaganda tactic depicts the West as morally corrupt while whitewashing Russia’s own discriminatory policies. The so-called Russian world (Russkiy mir) ideology is an imperialist concept used to justify aggression against neighbouring countries, not a model of equality. In reality, the Russian state has systematically dehumanised Ukrainians, portraying their very existence as a threat. Russia’s own ethnic and religious minorities also face systemic discrimination and repression.