[News Article] The Letter ‘Z’: Encrypting Russia’s Secret War Code Against Ukraine
Brillin Yapply — FPCI Chapter Universitas Airlangga
Ever since the invasion of Ukraine early this year (02/22), Russia has been receiving many condemnations from governments all around the globe, especially from the West and mocking from netizens all around the internet. In contrast to what happened inside Russia, overflowing support made Putin’s administration continue to thrive. The “Z” code-words has been the center of all attention that shows support and justify the actions for the regime to invade Ukraine. The usage of “Z” code has functioned the way Putin desired it to be, to control the public opinions — especially the Russians. From being endorsed by politicians Maria Butina, to being used by Russian athlete Ivan Kullak on the podium-next to a gold medallist Ukrainian athlete, and even being enforced as a formation by children who suffered cancer, and many more shown in the street.
First spotted along with other letters in the military equipment and even though not part of the Cyrillic alphabet, the “Z” code rose to the top popularity. Then, it was thought as number 2 to represent the 22 February agreement between Russia and the Ukraine separatist. Some believed that it’s a code for the Russian identity within its military forces, so that they couldn’t be mixed up with the opposing forces, and friendly fire could be avoided. The Russian defense minister seems to confirm it by an instagram post which states that Z meant За победу — Za pobedu — for the victory. Others have also interpreted it as meaning Zapad meaning West or even as a representation of the number one target of Putin’s aggression, which is Ukrainian President Zelensky.
In response, the West has conducted several actions to handle this ‘Z’ code. Two German States have outlawed public displays that include the code and so, followed by two Lithuanian MPs, as well as the Zurich Insurance removal of Z in the logo to avoid being misinterpreted as pro Russia. This conveyed the message of the West bullying Russia, known as Russophobia to control the public opinions in isolating Russia and to seek more support against Russia.
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