Hromadske Radio continues its broadcasts in frontline regions despite the ongoing shelling

This week, Hromadske Radio has had to restore the operation of its transmitters twice due to shelling by the Russian military.

On February 14th, in Kherson, Russian shelling damaged the power supply to the area housing the radio broadcasting tower. A backup diesel generator was activated on the tower and remained in operation until 17:39. Subsequently, it ran out of fuel, but Hromadske Radio continued to operate on its own battery. Since the tower can only be accessed during periods of silence, Hromadske Radio remained the sole available Ukrainian broadcaster in Kherson for several hours.

Later in the evening, the situation returned to normal, allowing a worker to reach the tower, refuel, and restore the normal operation of all radio stations. Similar situations have occurred multiple times, particularly at night, when equipment maintenance becomes challenging due to movement restrictions and shelling.

It’s noteworthy that Kherson is under almost constant fire from various types of weapons, primarily from MLRS, covering the districts. The unpredictability of shell landings adds to the challenges.

In Hirnyk, Donetsk region, the Hromadske Radio transmitter ceased broadcasting for four days due to damage to the power cable, broken during shelling on February 10th. The repair team successfully restored the connection on February 14th.

Unlike the Kherson setup, the transmitter in Hirnyk lacks additional batteries and broadcasts just a few kilometers from the frontline.

It was previously reported that in occupied Luhansk, a stolen transmitter from Hromadske Radio in Starobilsk is used to broadcast Russian Autoradio.

During the Russian offensive, Hromadske Radio lost eight transmitters in Donbas, including in Starobilsk. Currently, only two continue to broadcast. Sumy and Chernihiv, where Hromadske Radio received frequencies in January, have also joined the border broadcasting of Hromadske Radio.