Ukraine’s ‘Democratic’ government has demanded that all countries across the world ‘criminalize’ the use of Russia’s ‘Z’ symbol.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, has publicly demanded that all countries render the display of the ‘Z’ symbol as a way of voicing pro-Russian viewpoints illegal.
The comes slightly over a week after the country — described as “democratic” by leftist US President Joe Biden — banned a number of political parties in the country, including the main opposition to the current government led by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
While some European states have already moved to ban the use of the letter Z, a symbol associated with the ongoing invasion due to it being frequently used to mark vehicles operated by the country’s army alongside other letters like V and O, Ukraine is going further, asking all countries to ban the character.
“I call on all states to criminalize the use of the ‘Z’ symbol as a way to publicly support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Minister Kuleba wrote online, imploring nations to ban the use of the ‘Z’.
“’Z’ means Russian war crimes, bombed out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians,” he continued.
“Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden,” the foreign affairs minister went on to claim.
This is not, by any means, the first appeal by Zelensky’s government to foreign nations for support, be it military or political. Indeed, Ukraine has not been shy in putting political pressure on foreign governments, singling out nations regarding their support — or perceived lack thereof — of the country’s military efforts against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
While many nations in the western world presently have no rules against the display of the Russian ‘Z’ symbol, others have proactively rendered pro-Russian use of the letter illegal before Ukrainian officials publicly pressured them to do so.
One of these nations is anti-free speech Germany, with authorities having already threatened that anyone who displays the ‘Z’ could face up to three years in prison.
The ban was initially announced by authorities in a number of federal states across the country, before the nation’s Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that anyone who dares express a pro-Russian viewpoint — including via the display of the ‘Z’ — would be opening themselves up to criminal prosecution.
“Russian war of aggression against the #Ukraine is a criminal offense,” the ministry wrote online. “Anyone who publicly approves of this war of aggression may be liable to prosecution.”
“This also applies to showing the ‘Z’ symbol,” the ministry continued. “Federal safety agencies are eyeing the use of the symbol.”
Despite German authorities announcing further restrictions on free speech in the country, German-speaking netizens do not seem to be all that perturbed by their state’s threats, instead mocking the crackdown on social media by sharing images of totally innocuous uses of the letter with the official account operated by the Federal government.
“Can I still drive my car?” asked one user of the ministry, posting an image of what appears to be a z-like badge on a vehicle, while others posted images and gifs of Zorro, a fictional character famous for using his sword to slash ‘Z’ symbols into various objects.
One company however that is taking the matter quite seriously, though, is Swiss-based Zurich Insurance, which has announced that it will be discontinuing the use of its logo over its similarity with the Russian “Z”.
A white Z on a blue background, the company now seems to fear that it is too similar to the white “Z” commonly used by the Russian army, and so have decided to cease its use.
“We are temporarily removing the use of the letter ‘Z’ from social channels where it appears in isolation and could be misinterpreted,” the Daily Mail reported the insurance company as saying in a statement.
“We’re monitoring the situation closely and will take further actions if and when required,” the company’s statement continued. “The Zurich brand has been around for 150 years. It is a trusted brand and we have proven our ability to change and respond to challenges over time.”