The key facts

  • On November 9, the UVB-76 station transmitted four coded messages: at 11:02, 11:42, 13:52 and 14:25 Moscow time
  • The talks in Abu Dhabi are scheduled for November 10–11; the delegations will be led by Medinsky and Budanov
  • The Kremlin stated that the format remains trilateral and European representatives will not be admitted

An unusually active day for UVB-76

The mysterious shortwave radio station UVB-76, known as the 'Doomsday Station', became noticeably more active on November 9: according to the Telegram channel 'UVB-76 logs', which tracks its broadcasts, it transmitted four new coded messages over the day. The first message sounded at 11:02 Moscow time and contained the word 'zevostorg', at 11:42 Moscow time the word 'zloslovye' appeared on air, at 13:52 Moscow time — 'kvasostol', and at 14:25 Moscow time — 'smakobol'. Gazeta.Ru reports this.

Context: talks in Abu Dhabi

The station's activity coincided with preparations for a new round of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations mediated by the US, scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. The Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, the Ukrainian one — by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, while the US will be represented at the meeting by the American leader's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Dispute over Europe's participation

The format of the meeting became a point of contention even before it began. According to Politico, cited by Gazeta.Ru, Europe also wants to take part in the talks: France, Germany and the United Kingdom plan to send their national security advisers to Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin responded by stating, that the agreed format remains exclusively trilateral and European representatives will not be admitted to the meeting.

What is known and what remains unclear

The purpose of the transmitted words is unknown: sources only record the fact of the station's broadcasts and their content, without revealing the meaning of the coded messages. The coincidence in time with the talks in Abu Dhabi is an observation, not a confirmed connection. Gazeta.Ru examined the details of the preparations for the round of talks in a separate article, which also noted that experts had discussed in advance what to expect from the meeting.