The British Broadcasting Corporation has launched two new shortwave radio frequencies that will reach areas of Ukraine and Russia where access to information may be limited due to the Moscow invasion.

Residents of Kyiv and parts of Russia will be able to hear BBC World Service news clearly in English for four hours a day – 4-6pm UK time on 15735kHz and 10pm-midnight on 5875kHz – a statement from the BBC said on Wednesday.

Shortwave radio was invented in the early 1920s and has become particularly popular in Europe during times of conflict, as it can reach remote areas and travel great distances without the need for satellites or cables, which can be compromised in times of war. It tends to work better at night than during the day.

“We will continue to give the Russian people access to the truth wherever we can,” BBC director-general Tim Davie said in a statement.

According to BBC figures, a growing number of Ukrainians and Russians are consuming news from the British broadcaster, as the Kremlin has stepped up efforts to force Russian media to take the official line on the conflict and after a strike Russian missile appears to be targeting a TV tower in Kiev on Tuesday.

Readership of the English-language BBC site in Russia rose to 423,000 last week, the broadcaster said, an increase of 252%, while in Ukraine it was up 154%. Meanwhile, its Russian and Ukrainian language news sites have also seen their readership skyrocket, with the Russian language site hitting 10.7 million people last week, the BBC said.

“In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda are rampant, there is a clear need for factual, independent information that people can trust,” Davie said, “and in a significant development, millions more Russians are turning to the BBC”.

According to the US-based National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters, shortwave radio signals can travel “several thousand miles” or even the entire length of the Earth. “The secret is the ionosphere – a layer of Earth’s atmosphere that shortwave signals bounce off of, bouncing back to earth hundreds and thousands of miles from their point of origin,” the industry group says. non-profit.