Mysterious 'Z' symbol painted on Russian tanks in Ukraine
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With Russian tanks, armoured vehicles, trucks and soldiers sporting the letter, which does not appear in the Russian alphabet, the move is designed to discourage support for the invasion of Ukraine. Already, controversy emerged over the symbol when a Russian gymnast was seen displaying the image on his chest at a medal ceremony.
Now, Nexta, a large Eastern European news network has revealed the news Lithuania is set to ban the sign.
Taking to Twitter to announce the news, the outlet said: “Members of the Lithuanian Parliament have proposed equating the St. George ribbon and the letter Z with Nazi and communist symbols.
“A fine of up to 500 euros will be imposed for their demonstration.”
Replying to the Tweet, many social media users approved the move.
Jane Eyre said: “Totally agree, hope all countries that support Ukraine do the same.”
Whilst Pav said: “Dam right, thank you Lithuania.”
Nazanin continued by saying: “Thank you Lithuania! It is important to identify and call out symbols of hate and weaponized propaganda!
“These are not mere images – they induce terror and must be recognized as weapons of war!”
The Z symbol is being compared to the Nazi Swastika by some.
Across the EU, many nations have banned the displaying of the Swastika.
In France, Germany, Austria and many other nations, the act comes with punitive measures.
However, in the UK and USA, displaying the Swastika is still legal.
There are varying views on why Russia is using the letter Z on their equipment and personnel.
The most popular theory used by military experts to explain the symbol is that they were written according to the respective areas where the Russian troops are usually stationed, with Z potentially standing for Zapad, or West in Russian.
Professor Michael Clarke, former director of the defence at RUSI said: “Often these symbols will be location-based – they will be communicating where a unit is heading. If they were only to mark the vehicles as being Russian, you could just use one symbol.”
Speaking to Sky, he continued: “The fact they are different tells you more – they are probably signs which tell you which units are heading to the north-east or north-west of a district, for example.”
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Other experts believe the letters were drawn in an attempt to avoid friendly fire.
Some pro-Kremlin Russian military experts have speculated the letter Z stands for the name of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the letter V for Vladimir Putin.
The Russian defence ministry itself has not commented on any of the theories, and instead posted on its Instagram channel that Z meant Za pobedu or “for victory” and V stood for “power of truth”.
Yet for many, the symbol has become a sign of support for Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.
Should the Z symbol be banned as a Nazi-style icon? What do you think of Russian sportsmen wearing the symbol? Should war be glorified in selling Z symbol merchandise? Let us know what you think by CLICKING HERE and joining the debate in our comments section below – Every Voice Matters!
Just three days after the invasion, the Kremlin-funded state network RT announced on its social media channels it was selling Z merchandise, including T-shirts and hoodies, to show support for Russian troops.
Since then, countless flashmobs across the country have been organised by the authorities, in which young Russians are seen wearing a Z shirt while displaying their support for the war.
The Z letter has also been painted on large Soviet-era apartment blocks and posted on street advertisement signs.
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