MOSCOW: Since Russia moved troops into Ukraine, the letter"Z" - emblazoned on Moscow's advancing armoured vehicles - has gripped the country's public consciousness on social media, in manicures and on an athlete's uniform.Russia's military incursion into UkraineAnd increasingly, it's being used as a rallying cry either in support of the operation in Ukraine - or against it.
The official Instagram and Telegram pages of Russia's defence ministry prominently show messages starting with the letter, such as"Za Pobedu" ,"Za Mir" ,"Za Pravdu" and"Za Rossiyu" . Several days later, 20-year-old gymnast Ivan Kuliak stepped onto the third-place podium step at the World Cup in Doha, Qatar, wearing a"Z" affixed to his chest - a Ukrainian athlete stood to his right, having snagged gold.
Beyond Moscow and Saint Petersburg, flash mobs and demonstrations of support have sprung up in far-flung regions under the slogan"We do not abandon our own".