The world was horrified last week when Russian President Vladimir Putin started an invasion of Ukraine. As a result, they have entered Chernobyl, where radiation levels have risen dramatically. As the rest of the world watches, some have noted that Russian military vehicles have Z emblems on them. According to Sky News, painted markings like this are often affixed to vehicles that are about to participate in battle, implying that the Z symbols may be suggestive of Russian military preparations. According to reports, there are around ten distinct sorts of symbols, some of which are simply a simple Z, while others are in boxes or triangles.
On Twitter, claimed student Rob Lee, who focuses on Russian defense policy, said, “This is a major red flag.” “In Belgorod, they are Rosgvardia soldiers and Avtozaks (prisoner transport vehicles) with ‘Z’ marks. A significant hint that troops from Rosgvardia would join any attack.” The Russian National Guard, or Rosgvardia, is a distinct organization from the Russian Armed Forces that reports exclusively to President Putin, according to the Telegraph, which reported earlier this week that the guard might be in charge of restoring control of area seized during the invasion.
The insignia’ implications are unknown, although they might be used to minimize friendly fire by making it simpler for Russian forces to recognize Russian vehicles, or they could be used to communicate the vehicle’s strategic methods of attack. Professor Michael Clarke, former director of the defence research tank RUSI, told Sky News that “often these symbols would be position based – they will be signaling where a unit is headed.” “If they merely wanted to identify the cars as Russian, they could use one emblem.”
“The fact that they’re different tells you a lot more — they’re presumably indicators indicating which units are traveling to the northeast or northwest of a district, for instance.” However, no clear conclusions have been reached, and additional research is required to fully comprehend the underlying significance of these symbols.
Russian tanks, artillery, and vehicles have been painted with symbols that might reveal their plans. ‘Z’ symbols and triangles with two lines on their sides are common markings that show just before conflict, according to experts.
New insignia have surfaced on Russian trucks stationed near the Ukrainian border in recent days. According to an expert, the painted signals are often used to convey where military troops are heading in battle and are only applied to equipment just before action. On photographs emerging from the region, Sky News has noticed at least ten different sorts of symbols being employed by Russian soldiers, some of which only appear in specific spots.
