Ukraine has called on countries to ban the usage of the letter “Z” to show support to the war-torn country against Russia’s invasion.
Several Russian military vehicles, with “Z” written in white, had crossed the border into Ukraine after Russian president Vladimir Putin declared war on 24 February.
Since then, “Z,” which does not exist in the Cyrillic alphabet used in Russia, has been used by Kremlin supporters to back Mr Putin.
“I call on all states to criminalise the use of the ‘Z’ symbol as a way to publicly support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Dmytro Kuleba, the country’s foreign minister, said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“‘Z’ means Russian war crimes, bombed-out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians. Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden.”
The markings on an array of military vehicles, at times inside a triangle or a square, are painted to communicate where military units are headed shortly before deployment, according to military experts.
“It’s vital that any attacking force can be distinguished, particularly from the air where Russian forces will have complete control. The Ukrainians have very similar tanks and vehicles and will want to reduce the risk of friendly fire,”The Sun had quoted a source in Kyiv as saying.
Germany on Monday announced individuals displaying “Z” to show support to Russia would be liable for prosecution.
The interior minister for the state of Berlin had earlier said city authorities would jump on cases of the symbol being used to endorse Russia’s aggression, following announcements by Bavaria and Lower Saxony.
“The letter Z as such is of course not forbidden, but its use may in individual cases constitute an endorsement of the Russian war of aggression," a spokesperson for the federal interior ministry said.
Zurich Insurance, Switzerland’s largest insurer, removed its own “Z” logo from social media to avoid being misinterpreted as supporting Russia in the conflict.
“We are temporarily removing the use of the letter ‘Z’ from social channels where it appears in isolation and could be misinterpreted,” the company told Reuters in a statement.
Meanwhile, peace talks between the two nations, underway in Turkey, are aimed at ending the invasion after more than a month of war. The resumption of formal direct talks comes after a pause of more than two weeks.
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