Hacked Russian radio station broadcasts Ukraine's national anthem and anti-war songs

Much to the surprise of its listeners, a major Russian radio station began playing the Ukrainian anthem and a string of anti-war songs.

The station was hacked Wednesday, according to The Moscow Times. A YouTube clip saved the broadcast, capturing the snafu.

Kommersant FM, the radio offshoot of the Kommersant newspaper, was set to deliver its lunchtime bulletin when it was cut off by the Ukrainian military anthem, "Oh the red viburnum in the meadow," according to BBC. The country's national anthem followed, and then came "I don't need war" by the Russian rock band Nogu Svelo.

Alexey Vorobyov, editor-in-chief of Kommersant FM, told Russia's Tass news agency that the online stream had been hijacked.

Live updates: War will cost Russia 15 years of economic gains; UN says 'global cost-of-living crisis'

US involvement: Biden is giving Ukraine the deadliest weapons yet. Will it make a difference?

"We were really hacked," he said. "Technical specialists are now finding out the origin of this attack, trying to do something with the internet stream."

Kommersant is owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, the fifth-richest person in Russia, who is "one of Vladimir Putin's favorite oligarchs," according to Business Insider. Usmanov was sanctioned by the U.S. after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The hack is the latest stunt that has seen Russian media programs interrupted with anti-war messages. In May, Russian TV broadcasts were hacked to display anti-war messages on the same day the country celebrated its national military festival.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hacked Russian radio station broadcasts Ukraine's national anthem