What does the Z mean on Russian tanks? Meaning behind symbols explained

THE Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine has seen capital Kyiv come under attack.

In the images emerging of the conflict in Ukraine, a Z has been spotted on the sides of Russian military vehicles.

What does the Z mean on Russian tanks?

On many of Russia’s tanks there is a white symbol which looks like the letter Z, sometimes with a white box around it.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the “Z” symbol means “for the victory”.

However, a military source in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv told The Sun that the Z symbol is most likely to help to avoid friendly fire.

The marking prevents Russian forces from attacking their own vehicles but also lets opposing forces identify them.

There is a possibility of confusion as Ukrainian tanks look very similar, especially from the air.

Other experts claim that the Z symbolises the vehicles are ready to attack.

Professor Michael Clarke, former director of the defence think tank Rusi, told Sky News: “Often these symbols will be location-based – they will be communicating where a unit is heading.”

He added: “They are probably signs which tell you which units are heading to the north-east or north-west of a district, for example.”

Another theory by Russian analyst Rob Lee claims the Z identifies “different task forces or echelons”.

And former field intelligence officer David Kime said some military sources believe Z stands for “the point of no return”.

Why are Russians using the Z?

Many have put forward various ideas of the meaning behind the symbol.

The most prevalent theory is that the letter Z stands for Zelenskyy, which is the last name of the Ukrainian President. 

In the Russian language, Z could mean Zara’s (West), or zadacha (Task), or zavershenie (completion) zvezda (star) depending on the given context.

On social media, some Russians have written that the letter Z is being referred to as west.

While others associate it as a symbol of the final stage of the liberation of Donbas.

And the state-owned news network Russia Today has even been selling T-shirts featuring the Z symbol.

The media has suggested that the markings may just indicate the composition of the crews and the type of military equipment in them.

The symbol Z does not appear in the Russian alphabet, with the letter actually resembling the number 3 in the Cyrillic script.

What do the other symbols mean?

Along with the Z symbol, tanks have also been spotted with a triangle with two lines on either side.

Others show a circle with dots inside it, two triangles with one inside the other, and diamond shapes.

These are all painted white on the side and the top of military vehicles such as tanks and lorries.

It is unclear what the different symbols mean but it is likely that they indicate their attack group.

One symbol could denote a specific objective for that vehicle and identifies them to prevent friendly fire.

Symbols like these have been used in other conflicts such as chevrons for the US troops in Iraq.