“Nikopol has fewer sparrows than drones” Nostalzhi radio remains city’s voice

“They are chirping non-stop, day and night. In all four years of full-scale operation, there has never been anything like this,” says Valerii Tereshchenko, the director of the Nostalzhi 102.4 FM radio company. Nikopol is now probably the city most attacked by the occupiers in Ukraine. He told the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) how media workers live and work under constant shelling.

The russians are four kilometers away, on the other bank of the Dnieper River. Under the cover of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, UAV pilots are terrorizing the city.

“Something flies every three to four minutes,” says Tereshchenko.

Drones are hunting people and cars. It is very difficult to leave, the city streets are practically empty.

“There are fewer sparrows than drones in Nikopol,” notes Valerii. “The enemies are also attacking with artillery.”

Nostalzhi is currently the only radio station that broadcasts 24/7 to Nikopol, Marhanets, and Pokrova and the surrounding areas. Three employees provide broadcasting, while thirteen people worked here before the full-scale invasion.

Broadcasting without interruptions means needing uninterrupted electricity. There is a charging station in the studio, but there is none for the transmitting equipment that provides broadcasting. When there is no electricity, the transmitting equipment runs on a generator, but refueling it is a separate problem.

“We have to make do with gasoline, all the gas stations are broken,” says Valerii Tereshchenko. A charging station for the transmitting equipment would cover the most pressing need: “So that we can work calmly for two or three hours.”

Media workers get to work during breaks between shelling, and when there is an alarm, they hide in a bomb shelter. Despite everything, Nostalzhi does not fall silent – it is the voice of the city, which continues to sound steadily…