Z (military symbol)

The Latin-script letter Z (зет) is one of several symbols (including "V" and "O") painted on military vehicles of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is speculated that the Z helps distinguish task forces from one another and serves as an identifier to avoid friendly fire; however, Russian officials have claimed various meanings for the symbol. Due to its association with the war in Ukraine, the Z has become a militarist symbol in Russian propaganda and is used by Russian civilians to indicate support for the invasion. The symbol has subsequently been banned from public display in various countries, and its use has been criminalized by several European governments. Opponents of the war have pejoratively called the Z symbol a zwastika or zwaztika, in reference to the Nazi swastika, or derisively in Russian and Ukrainian as ziga (Russian: зига), in reference to Sieg Heil. Some Ukrainian officials and Internet users have referred to Russia as Ruzzia or RuZZia (Роzzия or РоZZия; Роzzія or РоZZія). Various letters with corresponding meanings have been used by the Russian Armed Forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The form of the "Z" symbol is a reproduction of the Latin letter Z, identical also to a capital Greek zeta. The "Z" symbol is used instead of the equivalent Cyrillic letter З (Ze) used in the Russian alphabet, which has been described as peculiar, considering the symbol's later association with Russian nationalism and pro-Putin politics. This could be to avoid confusion with the numeral of a similar form 3, which is also used in Russia. The invasion has acquired the nickname "Operation Z", derived from the "Z" symbol. Military experts think the symbols are identifying marks used to reduce friendly fire, similar to the invasion stripes used in the Normandy landings during World War II. Some military experts think the symbols help distinguish different Russian army groups from one another, with former Royal United Services Institute director Michael Clarke saying that "often these symbols will be location-based: they will communicate where the unit is going" and pointing to the U.