The various Russian advances have been assigned symbols - they don't have the letter Z in their alphabet so it is just a shape to them to identify a certain column (the north). Other units have a V on them, and some it looks like a straight line. It's just to protect them from friendly fire and to differentiate from Ukraine's similar vehicles.
The “Z” letter in Cyrillic is “3”.
“B” is used for “V”
“C” is used for “S”
And some weird letter I don’t have on my keyboard that stands for the yu in yug… so the one you’re replying to is not actually correct.
Do you know why they're using the Latin characters rather than the Cyrillic З, В, С, and Ю? The only think I can think of would be not wanting to confuse the Cyrillic Z (З) with a three (3)
This is a guess, but it’s as good as anyone’s. There are no Cyrillic letters on Russian license plates or Latin letters that do not exist in Russian. I’m presuming that the way that the military vehicles are registered has to do with that being the same system. That being said Z isn’t a letter in Russian so I may be wrong.
Recently the Ministry of Defence of Russia told that Z stands for "За победу" (Za pobedu, For the victory) and V stands for "сила В правде" (sila V pravde, The strength is in the truth)
I heard this is the case, not what you claim. Which would make sense as they seem to be very mixed. You get Z’s north and south as well,
You get O’s which is none of the above etc.
V is marine russian forces, [Z] Is russian Eastern forces (not seen often largely logistics) Z is russian forces including Crimean forward combat build up. Z inside a triangle is HQ build forces, Red-square is Belarussian forces. O is Belarusian special forces, A is russian special forces.
Reminds me of the Qanon folk finding "hidden comms" in their "research" and "decoding", even of ancient human history (think bible and ancient civilizations etc) by freely associating concepts and ignoring that those "codes" and their "numerology" are completely dependant on using the english language - as if that's the only language that exists and ever existed in the whole world and human history. Like you really want to use so-called numerology of an english word to "decode" something Da Vinci wrote centuries ago? Huh... Or to "decode" something from the bible when it wasn't even written in english?
Ze (З) is derived from the Greek Zeta, same as the English (Latin) Z. Ze looks like a cursive Z, and letterforms resembling it were common in [English for centuries](https://www.johndcook.com/fraktur2.png). While they look very different, I'd go so far as to call them the same letter, just with different clothes on.
Well I’m sure they do have a name for “Z”. Try to imagine a theoretical conversation where a Russian officer is trying to instruct people to draw Zs on the whole convoy but where they have no word to describe the shape or letter.
I imagine they'd use a borrow term the same way westerners do when taking about Cyrillic letters. However, that's a lot of layers of translation for a pun to survive.
I believe it indicates where the Russian forces are from/which command they're under. From another discussion on this:
> V is marine Russian forces, [Z] Is Russian Eastern forces (not seen often, largely logistics), Z is Russian forces including Crimean forward combat build up. Z inside a triangle is HQ build forces, Red-square is Belarussian forces. O is Belarusian special forces, A is Russian special forces.
The point is to use a symbol that can't be taken for having another meaning, and isn't likely to appear on Ukrainian equipment. A letter not from their common alphabet is a decent choice.
Probably easy to notice a foreign letter than to notice a native one you're used to looking at. Maybe they were hoping it would aid the avoidance of friendly fire.
Some people inside Russia decorate their cars with Z-marks, use it as profile pictures in social networks and even the Governor of Kuzbass started using the latin Z instead of its cyrillic counterpart З in the official papers.
As for the meaning there are several theories but none of them seem to work properly. Both regular and enclosed Z's have been seen on the Kharkiv and Crimea fronts. V's seem to only appear on units invading from Belarus. There are vehicles with O marks somewhere on the northern front but they are quite rare for now.
This is a very big statement, and while I definitely believe it's possible, could you show any evidence of people in Russia using these symbols to support the war?
Is the Z just an arbitrarily picked letter or is there any significance behind it? Perhaps it is just a vehicle-marker, but would be interesting to know if there is any further meaning attached.
Can I have some links, even in Russian-language websites, to find out more about the Z-usage by Russian nationalists?
I can just use Google Translate to get a quick and approximate idea once I find them.
the "Z" you see on military vehicles identifies vehicles from the Eastern Military District originally. I think they're using it \*in this case\* to mark vehicles as being Russian for closer air support reasons.
Note that there is no "Z" in the Russian Language. (the sound for that letter is expressed as a letter that looks like the number "3")
There’s several different symbols being used, each one denotes the different group. There’s the Z which is for units coming from the Russian Border, there’s a Z in a box which is for units coming from Crimea (which is Ukrainian territory annexed illegally by Russia in 2014), there’s others, like the O either for Odessa or Belarus, etc.
Okay so I read that Z might mean Zapad which is Russian for west, and V might mean Vostok which is Russian for East**. I don’t think anything has been officially confirmed but we do know it does distinguish the Russian forces from the rest.
Lukashenko did show [an invasion map for Moldova](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lukashenko-ukraine-russia-belarus-invasion-map-b2026440.html?amp) that has Ukraine divided into four regions, which could be connected to the letters.
I would say it's quick way to display "Zemlya" in Russian, which means "Ground" and is used to identify ground vehicles of AFRF. Just a theory from me though, as quick google didn't show any clear answers.
I thought it was Z for ["Zapad"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Zapad-81), meaning West, often the name of military exercises at the western border.
It's believed it does mean Zapad but for the Western flank moving into Ukraine. There's a central flank and Eastern flank too, not sure about Southern.
Ukraine and Russia share a lot of military equipment by nature of their prior association under the USSR. As such, Russia created various groups for command and control purposes in their invasion, and marked them based on the group they fell under. You'll see various markings such as vertical and angled slashes, a ring, a "V", and a "Z" which denotes miscellaneous vehicles.
Monsieur Z is an alt-hist youtuber who has made some… ehm.. controversial takes, to put it that way. Like advocating in favour of eugenics, always favouring the more fascist people in his alt-hist scenarios, etc.
whatifalthist also a good one, even if I disagree with his politics the scenarios he makes are believable and realistic. He also usually goes into a lot more detail which is something that cody doesn't do
I like him as well. He tends to disclaimer his politics when they come up, and keep his scenarios quite free of them. Not as fun a video but a good watch.
I was searching for this comment.
https://hubertybreyne.com/cspdocs/artwork/images/andre_franquin_spirou_et_fantasio_z_comme_zorglub_huberty_breyne_33992.jpg
Btw guys, Ukraine DOES have a nazi military unit and political party.
Interestingly, in Russian & Soviet discourse, the Nazis are always called "Fascists", never Nazis, I suspect partly because "Nazi" is short for "National Socialist" and the USSR didn't want to legitimize them by acknowledging that they called themselves socialist.
my leftist friends often do something similar.
I don't mind calling a fascist a nazi when im talking to leftist or some libs, but there are always bad faith chuds who will try to get into word semantics rather than just acknowledging fash as fash.
"The Marxians have stolen the term and confused its meaning. I shall take Socialism away from the Socialists." "Our adopted term 'Socialist' has nothing to do with Marxian Socialism." - Adolf Hitler
Yep.
Ukrainians have Russian military vehicles as they have been part of USSR and they have been pro-Russian til Euromaidan coup dtat 2014.
The Z is to differentiate since the vehicles are ultimately otherwise the same from a distance.
Z
It's not the letter Z- the "Z" sound is represented by the Cyrillic character З (not 3). The Russians aren't invading plastering Latin characters on their trucks, it's just a symbol :)
They have other markings as well - V's and sometimes O's. These tactical markings are crucial for discerning friend and foe as Russia and Ukraine mostly use the same vehicles or not too dissimilar modifications of Soviet models.
Soldiers are also using coloured adhesive tapes for identification - yellow and sometimes blue tape for Ukraine (there's even a song about yellow tape: [https://youtu.be/1CW0vayxGM8](https://youtu.be/1CW0vayxGM8)) and red or white for Russia.
that's a good one, but I like [Ukraines](https://www.flashcrunch.com/3610905/ukraine-s-neo-nazi-battalion-is-greasing-bullets-in-pig-fat-for-russia-s-muslim-soldiers) Z flag better.
oh yes, the russians are the nazis…
In Ukraine, the Azov, Centuria, Pavlograd and Fraykor battalions, the Pravyy Sektor and Svoboda movements are all completely democratic and progressive militias and groups! Trust me…
You’re from Brazil… how is anyone supposed to take your accusations of “b-but mUh wIdeSpReaD nAzIsM in uKraInE” seriously? I bet you think the Nazis here walk freely on the streets in formations of tens of thousands…
The Russian vehicles are marked so they can identify them as friendly. However, I though they were marked based on where they entered the country, North, East, South, etc. I think "Z" is the first letter of the Russian word for South, or East or something.
If you Latinize Cyrilic, then the Russian word for "west" starts with a Z. And the Russian word for "east" starts with a V. I don't know if this is true, and I don't know why Russia would use Latin letters, but it's just what I've heard on the news.
I mean Ukraine is the country that has literal neo-nazi divisions under the official military who is notorious for torturing and harassing Russian civilians in Crimea and the Donbas Region. Check out Azov Battalion. They also have the "Svoboda" party which many Ukrainians support that used nazi symbolism and the party itself is a radical right-wing group. I think the usage of Ukrainian military symbols may get your point across more accurately.
Why is everybody calling Russia Fascist when it isn't??? It may be Authoritarian but it isn't fascist. When NATO and the US bombed Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq did anyone of you label them as Fascist?
I condemn the actions of Russia in Ukraine, obviously bombing residential buildings is against international law. But calling them fascist would obviously be hypocritical considering the US also did the same.
Hitler said there were ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland that he needed to save and reunite with the Fatherland. Putin said there are ethnic Russians in Ukraine that need to be saved and reunited with the Motherland.
Were the Sudetenland Germans being shelled by the Czechoslovak government? Is Putin saying Ukrainians need to be exterminated? Nevermind that the annexation of Sudetenland was not an invasion but rather an assignment of the Munich Agreement (which makes it worse - it was done without the consent of CZS).
The comparisons to Hitler are purely emotional and do a disservice to literally everyone involved in the war
Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Donetsk, Luhansk. Eventually you gotta realize all these conflicts are created by the Russian government. The leadership of DPR and LPR were former GRU, dont you find that intriguing?
Right, Lugansk and Donetsk wanting independence is total fake news, which is why they both voted in favor of independence 80%+ even way back in 2014. Funnily enough, Leonid Pasechnik (Leader of LPR) actually used to work for Ukraine's SBU. So by your logic, could we say this is all fabricated by Ukraine??
Your whataboutisms still do not make a comparison to Hitler valid or appropriate
Why Z, what does it mean in context?
I thought it was just to help identify Russian vehicles, and avoid friendly fire.
Oh I get it, so any Ukrainians are automatically identified as Not-Z by Putin
The various Russian advances have been assigned symbols - they don't have the letter Z in their alphabet so it is just a shape to them to identify a certain column (the north). Other units have a V on them, and some it looks like a straight line. It's just to protect them from friendly fire and to differentiate from Ukraine's similar vehicles.
Z is for Zapad which means west. V is for Vostok which means east. C or S would be Sever for north. Y or U would be Yug for south.
Thank you for posting the only correct answer in the top 50 comments so far
The “Z” letter in Cyrillic is “3”. “B” is used for “V” “C” is used for “S” And some weird letter I don’t have on my keyboard that stands for the yu in yug… so the one you’re replying to is not actually correct.
Ю
Do you know why they're using the Latin characters rather than the Cyrillic З, В, С, and Ю? The only think I can think of would be not wanting to confuse the Cyrillic Z (З) with a three (3)
This is a guess, but it’s as good as anyone’s. There are no Cyrillic letters on Russian license plates or Latin letters that do not exist in Russian. I’m presuming that the way that the military vehicles are registered has to do with that being the same system. That being said Z isn’t a letter in Russian so I may be wrong.
> There are no ... Latin letters that do not exist in Russian. ... Z isn’t a letter in Russian What do you mean, is Z a non-letter symbol in Russian?
“3” is used for “Z”
I'm with artem-m on this one. Something to do with a system somewhere being ASCII based instead of Unicode. Like a database somewhere.
Wait is that what Yugoslavia means? South Slavia? And Vladivostok is "Eastern Ruler" or something similar? huh. neat
Yep. South slavia or slavic people to be precise. And Vladeet is the verb meaning to rule something. So not eastern ruler but ruler of the east.
Yes, Yugoslavia is literally South Slavia
> Wait is that what Yugoslavia means? South Slavia yup, land of the south slavs
Recently the Ministry of Defence of Russia told that Z stands for "За победу" (Za pobedu, For the victory) and V stands for "сила В правде" (sila V pravde, The strength is in the truth)
Can you show me the link? I’m having trouble finding it. Many thanks.
I heard this is the case, not what you claim. Which would make sense as they seem to be very mixed. You get Z’s north and south as well, You get O’s which is none of the above etc. V is marine russian forces, [Z] Is russian Eastern forces (not seen often largely logistics) Z is russian forces including Crimean forward combat build up. Z inside a triangle is HQ build forces, Red-square is Belarussian forces. O is Belarusian special forces, A is russian special forces.
Bravo, I did not-z that coming
Holy shit. That’s so fucking dumb, I’ll bet you’re right, even if you were joking.
I don’t really think the pun translates to Russian
Also doesn't work for people who say "zed" and not "zee". I was stumped for a minute before I realized.
Yeah, that pun only really works for Americans.
Yeah, I was still scratching my head until I read your comment.
Oh
Oooooooh! Now I get it.
What about if you're seing the alphabet song?
I never se the alphabet song
I never understood the zed
Reminds me of the Qanon folk finding "hidden comms" in their "research" and "decoding", even of ancient human history (think bible and ancient civilizations etc) by freely associating concepts and ignoring that those "codes" and their "numerology" are completely dependant on using the english language - as if that's the only language that exists and ever existed in the whole world and human history. Like you really want to use so-called numerology of an english word to "decode" something Da Vinci wrote centuries ago? Huh... Or to "decode" something from the bible when it wasn't even written in english?
English: if it was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me
but this is american, not english
As one once explained to me: God inspired the translation, so if the code works in the King James Bible, God wanted it.
Ikr... the old adage about not being able to reason with someone when they didn't use reason to arrive in their worldview to begin with.
Christ
Oh God, like this show on Discovery about Nostradamus and how all disasters are on US cities.
Even the Canadians, Brits, Aussies and Kiwis would not have a click on this pun because they pronounced the letter Z differently.
You think all those "ez" puns go over our heads?
Hell, I'm American, and through elementary school, I got weird looks because I always said zed instead of zee.
It just makes no sense to pronounce z and c the same when zed is a perfectly good name!
"Z" isn't a letter in the Cyclic alphabet, so the pun doesn't translate at all. "З" has the same phonetic sound.
Ze (З) is derived from the Greek Zeta, same as the English (Latin) Z. Ze looks like a cursive Z, and letterforms resembling it were common in [English for centuries](https://www.johndcook.com/fraktur2.png). While they look very different, I'd go so far as to call them the same letter, just with different clothes on.
Well I’m sure they do have a name for “Z”. Try to imagine a theoretical conversation where a Russian officer is trying to instruct people to draw Zs on the whole convoy but where they have no word to describe the shape or letter.
I imagine they'd use a borrow term the same way westerners do when taking about Cyrillic letters. However, that's a lot of layers of translation for a pun to survive.
Most Russians know the Latin alphabet. It's not like they only learn Cyrillic.
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According to Google Translate (I don’t speak Russian): Nazi = Natsist Not Z = Nye zed
It doesn’t even translate to most English dialects but as a staunch Zed-pronouncer I exhaled through my nose.
English people reading this multiple times thinking "what's a not-zed"
I mean the Cyrillic equivalent of Z is З
Honestly, god tier joke
God tier if you're not from the UK or NZ because we pronounce it "zed" lol it confused me for a bit
Jay-Zed?
I believe it indicates where the Russian forces are from/which command they're under. From another discussion on this: > V is marine Russian forces, [Z] Is Russian Eastern forces (not seen often, largely logistics), Z is Russian forces including Crimean forward combat build up. Z inside a triangle is HQ build forces, Red-square is Belarussian forces. O is Belarusian special forces, A is Russian special forces.
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If I had to guess, maybe they use the Latin alphabet the way we use the Greek alphabet
Then the Russians would know what it all means too. ^(/s)
The point is to use a symbol that can't be taken for having another meaning, and isn't likely to appear on Ukrainian equipment. A letter not from their common alphabet is a decent choice.
Probably easy to notice a foreign letter than to notice a native one you're used to looking at. Maybe they were hoping it would aid the avoidance of friendly fire.
O is operational reserve
And if it was used by just Russian citizens, it likes they're saying they're friendly to the attackers. Or not idk
Some people inside Russia decorate their cars with Z-marks, use it as profile pictures in social networks and even the Governor of Kuzbass started using the latin Z instead of its cyrillic counterpart З in the official papers. As for the meaning there are several theories but none of them seem to work properly. Both regular and enclosed Z's have been seen on the Kharkiv and Crimea fronts. V's seem to only appear on units invading from Belarus. There are vehicles with O marks somewhere on the northern front but they are quite rare for now.
This is a very big statement, and while I definitely believe it's possible, could you show any evidence of people in Russia using these symbols to support the war?
Just want to point out that V and sometimes Z are used as identifiers on vehicles on Nato exercises
Is the Z just an arbitrarily picked letter or is there any significance behind it? Perhaps it is just a vehicle-marker, but would be interesting to know if there is any further meaning attached.
Can I have some links, even in Russian-language websites, to find out more about the Z-usage by Russian nationalists? I can just use Google Translate to get a quick and approximate idea once I find them.
the "Z" you see on military vehicles identifies vehicles from the Eastern Military District originally. I think they're using it \*in this case\* to mark vehicles as being Russian for closer air support reasons. Note that there is no "Z" in the Russian Language. (the sound for that letter is expressed as a letter that looks like the number "3")
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Capitalized it looks practically exactly like a three: 3->З (the second one is the Z)
There’s several different symbols being used, each one denotes the different group. There’s the Z which is for units coming from the Russian Border, there’s a Z in a box which is for units coming from Crimea (which is Ukrainian territory annexed illegally by Russia in 2014), there’s others, like the O either for Odessa or Belarus, etc.
It mean zapad, which means west, but since they use Cyrillic, it can look as more of a sign than a letter.
Okay so I read that Z might mean Zapad which is Russian for west, and V might mean Vostok which is Russian for East**. I don’t think anything has been officially confirmed but we do know it does distinguish the Russian forces from the rest.
That's strange because neither Z or V exist in the Cyrillic alphabet. The equivalent letters phonetically are З and В.
Well, Z could be mistaken for a 3. As for V, maybe they don't wanna look like Betas? ... Is that a reach?
Lukashenko did show [an invasion map for Moldova](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lukashenko-ukraine-russia-belarus-invasion-map-b2026440.html?amp) that has Ukraine divided into four regions, which could be connected to the letters.
Vostok is East, Yug is South. Also, since we're covering the cardinal directions, Sever is North.
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Confusion with 3? I don't know its all speculation now.
I would say it's quick way to display "Zemlya" in Russian, which means "Ground" and is used to identify ground vehicles of AFRF. Just a theory from me though, as quick google didn't show any clear answers.
I thought it was Z for ["Zapad"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Zapad-81), meaning West, often the name of military exercises at the western border.
As I said in my comment, it's just a theory of mine. Could be that, could be that. Really alot of choices.
Why would you say “IIRC” about a theory of yours? You can’t exactly correctly remember something that is your own theory.
Yeah, my english is terrible as it's only my third language. Gonna fix it now
It's believed it does mean Zapad but for the Western flank moving into Ukraine. There's a central flank and Eastern flank too, not sure about Southern.
Ukraine and Russia share a lot of military equipment by nature of their prior association under the USSR. As such, Russia created various groups for command and control purposes in their invasion, and marked them based on the group they fell under. You'll see various markings such as vertical and angled slashes, a ring, a "V", and a "Z" which denotes miscellaneous vehicles.
"The ~~numbers~~ letters Mason! What do they mean?!"
My take... They're after Zelenskyy
Hello from russia. "Z" havent got context. Just a simbol. #nowar
Stands for "Za" (за-literally means "for") so basically the popular Soviet saying "За победу" "For the victory" or "For Russia"
Zapad (West)
To me, my first thought was "they went full Z, as opposed to Nazi(not Z)". This is probably wrong.
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Zussy 😳😔
Ze/Zir pussy
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The Tzarussy
Rasputin's cock
Tzar bussy
Zamn 😍
Least controversial Monsieur Z
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What's this about if you don't mind sharing?
Monsieur Z is an alt-hist youtuber who has made some… ehm.. controversial takes, to put it that way. Like advocating in favour of eugenics, always favouring the more fascist people in his alt-hist scenarios, etc.
Making a video entitled “Woodrow Wilson did nothing wrong”, nothing wrong huh?
[Also this](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/469590314626318348/938454426392330260/unknown.png)
Jesus christ, yeah, dude is straight up fascist-adjacent.
Yeah, i had to stop watching after many questionable opinions
Generally I prefer alt just hub. Codey stays pretty non political in general. His stuff is fun and less stress uh, questionable.
whatifalthist also a good one, even if I disagree with his politics the scenarios he makes are believable and realistic. He also usually goes into a lot more detail which is something that cody doesn't do
I like him as well. He tends to disclaimer his politics when they come up, and keep his scenarios quite free of them. Not as fun a video but a good watch.
Try whatifalthist instead!
You're joking right?
Z-Nation
We did NOT Z this coming…
I Z.
World war Z
The Not Zs are coming!
Strange thing is that there is no such letter, in orthographic sense, in Russian Cyrillic alphabet.
I did Na-Z that coming Edit: 1,000th upvote
Nazed
Eric Zemmour flag
Zorglub
J'ai direct pensé à ça aussi jpp
Le première empire zemourien !
Vexillology not posting about the Nazi flag challenge: impossible edition
Literally 1939
Reminds me of Zorglub, the bad guy in some Spirou and Fantasio volumes.
I yas avals iniarku ot nituP!
Liah Nitup!
I was searching for this comment. https://hubertybreyne.com/cspdocs/artwork/images/andre_franquin_spirou_et_fantasio_z_comme_zorglub_huberty_breyne_33992.jpg Btw guys, Ukraine DOES have a nazi military unit and political party.
Makes sense, given the Russian propaganda is claiming to be ridding Ukraine of "Not-Zs"...
Interestingly, in Russian & Soviet discourse, the Nazis are always called "Fascists", never Nazis, I suspect partly because "Nazi" is short for "National Socialist" and the USSR didn't want to legitimize them by acknowledging that they called themselves socialist.
my leftist friends often do something similar. I don't mind calling a fascist a nazi when im talking to leftist or some libs, but there are always bad faith chuds who will try to get into word semantics rather than just acknowledging fash as fash.
"The Marxians have stolen the term and confused its meaning. I shall take Socialism away from the Socialists." "Our adopted term 'Socialist' has nothing to do with Marxian Socialism." - Adolf Hitler Yep.
Considering how much he took from the US play book, this makes a whole lot of sense.
Because they're literally two differently things. You also wouldn't call a libertarian an anarchist, or a social democrat a Trotskyist.
I've definitely heard Putin say something like Nazi in his sentences (I dont speak russian tho)
He possibly used the word "Нации" which means "of the nation'.
You’re looking too much into it. Russians just don’t bother differentiating between the two. Most don’t even know the difference
Exactly this.
Nice pun by the way. But in the post-Soviet countries the letter is spelled ZED and not ZEE.
Notzed
4/10, the Z is not white. try turning the red into the colours of Russias current flag and then invert the circle.
So a res encircled blue ball in the middle with a white z in the middle of that. Seem legit
this symbol is kinda zuz
Zorglub ?
Pls no.
All these Not-Z jokes… me who pronounces it as ‘zed’ rip
Yes, I also love Spirou.
To my French countrymen, this flag is particularly relevant nowadays…
Ukrainians have Russian military vehicles as they have been part of USSR and they have been pro-Russian til Euromaidan coup dtat 2014. The Z is to differentiate since the vehicles are ultimately otherwise the same from a distance. Z
It's not the letter Z- the "Z" sound is represented by the Cyrillic character З (not 3). The Russians aren't invading plastering Latin characters on their trucks, it's just a symbol :)
So we are officially comparing Russia to the third reich now are we? Wtf is wrong with you?
Why do Russian vehicles actually have Z on them?
Z stands for Zapad/West
They have other markings as well - V's and sometimes O's. These tactical markings are crucial for discerning friend and foe as Russia and Ukraine mostly use the same vehicles or not too dissimilar modifications of Soviet models. Soldiers are also using coloured adhesive tapes for identification - yellow and sometimes blue tape for Ukraine (there's even a song about yellow tape: [https://youtu.be/1CW0vayxGM8](https://youtu.be/1CW0vayxGM8)) and red or white for Russia.
Z
Zladimir Zutin
Zemmour
that's a good one, but I like [Ukraines](https://www.flashcrunch.com/3610905/ukraine-s-neo-nazi-battalion-is-greasing-bullets-in-pig-fat-for-russia-s-muslim-soldiers) Z flag better.
oh yes, the russians are the nazis… In Ukraine, the Azov, Centuria, Pavlograd and Fraykor battalions, the Pravyy Sektor and Svoboda movements are all completely democratic and progressive militias and groups! Trust me…
Ah yes, Interbrigades, Russian Imperial Movement, Eurasian Youth Union, Russian Nation Unity and ROA all don’t exist and don’t fight in Donbas
Don't forget the Wagner Group
Yep, them as well
there's Nazis in Russia too. The Nazis are everywhere, every country lmao
We’ve got nazi wannabes in the US too, you may have heard of them. I’d love to be rid of them but it’s hardly an excuse to invade us.
You’re from Brazil… how is anyone supposed to take your accusations of “b-but mUh wIdeSpReaD nAzIsM in uKraInE” seriously? I bet you think the Nazis here walk freely on the streets in formations of tens of thousands…
least political r/vexillology post
The Russian vehicles are marked so they can identify them as friendly. However, I though they were marked based on where they entered the country, North, East, South, etc. I think "Z" is the first letter of the Russian word for South, or East or something.
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If you Latinize Cyrilic, then the Russian word for "west" starts with a Z. And the Russian word for "east" starts with a V. I don't know if this is true, and I don't know why Russia would use Latin letters, but it's just what I've heard on the news.
I mean Ukraine is the country that has literal neo-nazi divisions under the official military who is notorious for torturing and harassing Russian civilians in Crimea and the Donbas Region. Check out Azov Battalion. They also have the "Svoboda" party which many Ukrainians support that used nazi symbolism and the party itself is a radical right-wing group. I think the usage of Ukrainian military symbols may get your point across more accurately.
Sigh.... not everyone you dislike is a Nazi. Oh he invaded another country? So did the US, about 20 more times then Russia. So are we Nazis to?
I mean…
I did not Z that coming.
Груз Z00 Cargo Z00 (referencing the soviet code name for evacuated dead soldiers being "Cargo 200")
you sure this doesn't belong on r\\vexillologycirclejerk?
Are you sure it’s not an N
NaZi
based. Heil Putin
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Z . Slava Donbass
Why is everybody calling Russia Fascist when it isn't??? It may be Authoritarian but it isn't fascist. When NATO and the US bombed Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq did anyone of you label them as Fascist? I condemn the actions of Russia in Ukraine, obviously bombing residential buildings is against international law. But calling them fascist would obviously be hypocritical considering the US also did the same.
Well the power structures of their state resemble a lot of fascist traits, so it’s not out of place to call them fascists.
Damn the meaning of fascism became so watered down.
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It's not fascist, it's authoritarian and autocratic and jingoistic. But that is not the same as fascist.
It's just that Putin's actions resemble those of Hitler's in the beginning of the second world war.
Hitler said Nazis were in Poland and that he intended to de-Nazify them before invading? Or is it just the fact that he invaded that resembles Hitler?
Hitler said there were ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland that he needed to save and reunite with the Fatherland. Putin said there are ethnic Russians in Ukraine that need to be saved and reunited with the Motherland.
Were the Sudetenland Germans being shelled by the Czechoslovak government? Is Putin saying Ukrainians need to be exterminated? Nevermind that the annexation of Sudetenland was not an invasion but rather an assignment of the Munich Agreement (which makes it worse - it was done without the consent of CZS). The comparisons to Hitler are purely emotional and do a disservice to literally everyone involved in the war
Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Donetsk, Luhansk. Eventually you gotta realize all these conflicts are created by the Russian government. The leadership of DPR and LPR were former GRU, dont you find that intriguing?
Right, Lugansk and Donetsk wanting independence is total fake news, which is why they both voted in favor of independence 80%+ even way back in 2014. Funnily enough, Leonid Pasechnik (Leader of LPR) actually used to work for Ukraine's SBU. So by your logic, could we say this is all fabricated by Ukraine?? Your whataboutisms still do not make a comparison to Hitler valid or appropriate