The Z has never been associated with Vladimir Putin’s regime before, and has none of the long-cultivated symbolism of other notorious icons
noticed curious characters painted on the side of Russian tanks. Among them were the letter V, the letter Z inside a box, and a plain letter Z itself. The mysterious runes generated myriad theories: perhaps Z was shorthand for “zapad”, which means “west” in Russian ; maybe it indicated the Kremlin’s desire to take out Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Military analysts instead reckon that the letters correspond to particular parts of the Russian forces involved in the invasion.
Since the fighting began, Russia’s state propaganda machine has turned the Z into the operation’s unofficial logo. Russia’s defence ministry has suggested that it stands for “za”, the Russian word for “for”, as in “for victory”. RT, a Russian propaganda network, began hawking T-shirts emblazoned with the letter. Vladimir Solovyov, a noxious state television host, has it plastered on his laptop in his latest videos.
The Z’s adoption several days into the operation suggests the planning for Russia’s information war may have been just as haphazard as theappear to have been. There is a particular irony to making a Latin letter the symbol of a war that Mr Putin has justified in part by spurious claims that the Russian language was under threat in Ukraine.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Russian Gymnast Explains Why He Wore 'War Symbol' Next To Ukrainian Athlete🗣 'I saw it on our military and looked at what this symbol means.' The Russian gymnast who wore a ‘Z’ symbol seen on Russian war machinery in Ukraine has spoken out about his decision to do.
Read more »
Why the Ukraine-Russia Conflict Will Make Potato Chips More ExpensiveToday's Daily Spotlight: Why the Ukraine-Russia conflict will make potato chips more expensive
Read more »
Ukraine war: Boris Johnson explains why West cannot immediately cut off Russian gas and oilThere have been repeated calls for the West to cease its use of Russian gas to provide the ultimate economic punishment to Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
Read more »
Savannah Guthrie grills Barr for silence under Trump: ‘Why didn’t you speak out?’Former attorney general is promoting his memoir
Read more »