The Latin-script letter Z (Russian: зет, romanized: zet, IPA:[zɛt]) is one of several symbols (including "V" and "O") painted on military vehicles of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the 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;[1][2] 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,[9] further adopted later by Russian far-right organizations.[10][additional citation(s) needed] 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 Naziswastika,[16] or derisively in Russian and Ukrainian as ziga (Russian: зига), in reference to Sieg Heil.[20] Some Ukrainian officials and Internet users have referred to Russia as Ruzzia or RuZZia (Russian: Роzzия or РоZZия; Ukrainian: Роzzія or РоZZія),[25] replacing the letter S with a Z in reference to the military symbol.