UVB-76 is transmitted on 4625 kHz and is occasionally interrupted by Russian voice messages, often containing names, numbers, or coded phrases. These voice messages are rare, irregular, and often nonsensical, making the transmission of Swan Lake highly abnormal.

Western military analysts associate UVB-76 with Russia's military communications and strategic command infrastructure. It reportedly remains operational as a fail-safe in the event that satellites, fiber, or cellular networks are disrupted.

The broadcasting of Swan Lake, a four-act ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and premiered in 1877 in Moscow, on UVB-76 could be interpreted as a mistake or operator error, a test transmission, accidental audio bleed from equipment at the transmitter site, or even signal hijacking.

Earlier, Russia showcased the deployment of its nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile system in its close ally, Belarus.

Fun fact, Swan Lake was repeatedly broadcast across Soviet state television during the August Coup in August 1991.

European outlet NEXTA asked, "So how should we interpret the latest transmission? A soundtrack for the flight of the Oreshnik?"