Authorities say the use of the letter could, in some cases, constitute an endorsement of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
People who display the letter “Z” in Germany to symbolize support for Russia’s war in Ukraine could be prosecuted, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
The interior minister of the state of Berlin said earlier Monday that city authorities would jump to cases where the Z symbol is used to support Russia’s aggression, after Bavaria and Lower Saxony announced they too would punish such acts.
A spokesman for the federal government’s interior ministry told reporters: “Of course, the letter Z as such is not prohibited, but its use may constitute an endorsement of Russia’s war of aggression in individual cases.”
After the February 24 invasion, government supporters inside and outside Russia have used the letter, which does not exist in the Cyrillic alphabet used in Russia, to show solidarity with Russian forces fighting in the neighboring country. The symbol can also be seen on Russian military tanks stationed in Ukraine.
“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is a criminal act, and anyone who publicly endorses this war of aggression can also be liable to prosecution,” said the Interior Ministry spokesman.
“The federal security authorities are keeping an eye on it, and in this respect we welcome the announcement that several federal states will also examine individual cases to determine whether it could be a criminal offense and take appropriate measures,” he said.
Various theories have been put forward since the Z symbol first appeared alongside other letters, including V and O, on military hardware. They ranged from suggestions that they stood for the first letters of the full name of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, to suspicions that they represented the areas where the soldiers serving them were typically based.
An Instagram post from the Department of Defense suggested that the Z symbol stood for “za pobedu” or “for victory.”