Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is taking place far less in the digital world than many expected. This also applies to the struggle for communication. Analogue radios obviously play an important role.

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has become one of the most serious conflicts in recent decades. The destruction, but also the strategy of Vladimir Putin's military attack, is reminiscent of a dark time.

Political analysts have predicted a different kind of war: a war that would take place primarily in the cyber domain and be characterized by digital attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine. There were even voices that questioned whether the Russian military would even have to invade to decide the war. It came, as we now know, but in a completely different way.

Is it due to inadequate preparation of the Russian armed forces?

Although there have been digital attacks by Russian hackers, and the aggressor Russia was also targeted by the hacktivists Anonymous, the war is predominantly physical, almost anachronistic.

This also applies to communication, as has now become known: The military company Shadowbreak  writes on Twitterthat for the first time in a modern conflict, the Russian armed forces would communicate with each other at least partially unencrypted and non-digitally. Some suspect that this could be due to inadequate preparation and planning for the war effort. Some soldiers therefore resort to civilian radios.

Ukrainians listen to Russian radio

So everyone can listen in. And this is exactly what Ukrainian civilians are taking advantage of, typing in enemy radio messages and publishing them online. Or they specifically search for and block the frequencies in order to make it more difficult for the Russian armed forces to communicate with each other.

You don't even need your own radio to do this. As "Futurezone" writes, many use the "Web-SDR" tool, which digitizes radio signals and streams them live to the Internet.

Radio banter

In any case, the operation of amateur radio in Ukraine has been strictly prohibited since the state of emergency was declared. But not everyone sticks to it. There is apparently "banter" between Russian and Ukrainian radio operators who insult each other and try to block important frequencies with jammers.

According to the German Amateur Radio Association (DARC), the danger lies in the fact that radio transmitters can be found relatively easily and become the target of hostilities.

In a statement dated February 28th, the association wrote: "Basically, every radio amateur who is currently broadcasting from Ukraine is risking his life. If you hear a Ukrainian station, you definitely shouldn't make a big deal about it . Disseminating call signs, locations and frequencies - whether on band or in a cluster - should definitely be avoided."

The DARC recommends to German radio operators: "In the current situation, the best thing we can do is listen. We should not try to call Ukrainian radio amateurs."

However, anyone who receives an emergency call with the signal words "Emergency", "Welfare Traffic" or the abbreviation "QUF" should pass it on to the local police. They have appropriate contacts in the Foreign Office.