Russian 'doomsday radio' sends series of ominous messages as WW3 fears rise

Another series of ominous messages have been broadcast on Russia's chilling 'doomsday radio' station.

It has been transmitting a constant, monotone buzz on 4625 kHz since the Cold War period - and this week, signals and code words were heard on the airwaves once again.

More than a dozen messages have been heard by those who keep an ear to the Russian shortwave radio station, UVB-76.

It's also known as ‘The Buzzer’, due to the bizarre sound that it has been broadcasting since the 1970s.

The radio station relentlessly sends out short, monotonous tones - often lasting about 1 to 1.2 seconds each - that repeat roughly 21 to 34 times per minute.

There's a host of theories about what it is and who is behind it, with the main one being that it belongs to the Russian army.

It's been speculated that military units might use UVB-76 to send coded instructions and other communications - but the Kremlin have never publicly commented on it.

Codes and messages were broadcast by ‘The Buzzer’ once again this week (Getty Stock Image)

But in the eyes of a host of experts such as professor David Stupples, who teaches electronic and radio engineering at the City University of London, it is 'almost certainly the Russian government that is using it'.

He previously told Popular Mechanics: "If it is the Russian government, it wouldn't be for peaceful purposes, but added: "They may be just reserving the channel for air defence or some form of defence."

Even the brightest boffins in the world struggle to get their heads around it - and when UVB-76 breaks from its non-stop buzzing and is interrupted by messages, it sparks even more speculation.

Chatter on the airwaves has been quite active already this year, with the doomsday radio signalling four words - Neptune, Thymus, Foxcloak, and Nootabu - back on 15 April.

A month later on 19 May, UVB-76 broadcast the ominous code 'NZhTI 89905 BLEFOPUF 4097 5573' before Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's phone call. It then followed up with 'NZhTI 01263 BOLTANKA 4430 9529'.

In September, two more codes were heard: 'NZHTI' and 'HOTEL', as well as a series of numbers - '38, 965, 78, 58, 88, 37'.

And this week, three signals were transmitted on Monday (8 December) and another eight went out on Wednesday (10 December).

Experts reckon that the Russian government are behind the 'doomsday radio' station (VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

They featured the code words 'PEPPER SHAKER', 'TRANSFER', 'PABODOLL', 'SPINOBAZ', 'FRIGORIA', 'OPALNY', 'SNOPOVY', and 'MYUONOSVOD'.

But once again, nobody has a clue what they mean - and given the ever-growing threat of World War 3, it's left people quite unnerved.

The faint sound of music and what is believed to have been bursts of Morse code were also reportedly broadcast on The Buzzer on Friday (12 December).

It comes after the chief of NATO, Mark Rutte, warned that member states will be Russia's 'next target'.

Explaining he wanted to be 'crystal clear about the threat', he said: "We are Russia’s next target, and we are already in harm’s way.

"I fear that too many [NATO members] are quietly complacent. Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not.

"The time for action is now. Allied defence spending and production must rise rapidly. Our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe."