Digital sleuths have speculated that the letter Z, written in Latin rather than Cyrillic, might indicate Moscow’s next moves.
Military experts interpreted the letter “З” as “For victory”, which in Russian means “for victory”, or as “Zapad”, which means “West”. Some have referred to the cars with the “Zorro Squad” symbol, while others have suggested that the “Z” may stand for the Kremlin’s self-proclaimed “number one target”. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
Arik Toler, a researcher at Bellingcat, an open-source investigative organization that has been monitoring Russian military operations since Moscow unleashed war in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, said on Feb. 20 that the group had no idea what the “Z” stood for. . never seen it in use before. “So let’s assume the worst, I think/fear,” he said. tweetedRussian defense policy expert Rob Lee, who has been tracking the Z vehicles since troops began amassing on Ukraine’s doorstep, suggested that the symbol could refer to military contingents assigned to fight in the country. “It looks like Russian forces near the border are painting markers, in this case the letter Z, on vehicles to represent different task forces or echelons,” Lee, PhD student in the Department of Military Studies, King’s College London., tweeted February 19th.
But after Moscow ordered a bloody attack on Ukraine, what began as a mysterious military symbol became a sign of popular support for the war in Russia and what analysts say is the unfolding of a new and frightening nationalist movement.
Russians paint the letter Z on their cars, wear black hoodies with the symbol on them, and make impromptu brooches with the letter Z on their lapel — a sign that there is some popular support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his efforts to expand Moscow’s sphere of influence. influence by seizing part of Ukraine.
“The authorities launched a propaganda campaign to garner popular support for their invasion of Ukraine, and they are getting it in abundance,” Kamil Galeev, independent researcher and former fellow at the Wilson Center, a non-partisan policy think tank in Washington, DC. , wrote on an extensive Twitter thread about the use of the “Z” symbol in propaganda videos and by Russians on social media.
“This symbol, coined just a few days ago, has become a symbol of the new Russian ideology and national identity,” Galeev added.
As the Kremlin tightens its grip on any news of Russian casualties or misfortunes that comes home — putting in place an unusual new law that makes spreading “fake” information an offense punishable by jail time — Putin’s supporters are ramping up their support. for the war.
At a hospice in Kazan, a city in southwest Tatarstan, children dying of cancer were asked to line up in a “Z” outside in the snow to show their support for the Russian military operation.
“Our patients and the whole team, about 60 people in total, took part in it. People lined up in a Z-shape,” said Vladimir Vavilov, chairman of the cancer charity that runs the hospice. “We held leaflets with the flags of the LPR, DPR, Russia and Tatarstan in our left hand, and clenched our right fist.”
Vavilov was referring to the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, separatist-held areas in eastern Ukraine that Putin recognized as independent states last month as one of the pretexts for invading the country.
The “Z” symbol has also appeared among members of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma.
Maria Butina was convicted of working as an unregistered foreign agent in the US trying to infiltrate prominent conservative political circles before and after the 2016 election. She now represents the Kirov region in the pro-Putin United Russia political party and has supported the war in messages on her Telegram channel.
Butina took to the platform to share clip drew a white “Z” on the lapel of her blazer and updated her profile with a selfie in a black T-shirt with a white “Z”.
“Keep going, brethren. We are with you. Forever,” she said in the video, clenching her fist.
Correspondents from Ukraine for the Russian state news network Rossiya-24 wore the letter “Z” on their body armor.
Footage from Russia’s main cities over the weekend shared captured convoys of cars with white ‘Z’s taped to windows, horns honking and huge Russian flags fluttering. At the World Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Russian athlete Ivan Kulyak wore the emblem on the medal podium, standing next to Ukrainian gold medalist Ilya Kovtun.
And in two artfully crafted propaganda videos circulating on social media, young Russians Dressed in black T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the letter “Z” and the hashtag #We Don’t Leave Our Own, or “we don’t leave our (guys) behind,” they wave Russian flags and express their support for Putin’s war, chanting “For Russia.” , for the president. For Russia, for Putin!”