Russian tanks in Ukraine marked with mysterious ‘Z’

Russian tanks entering eastern Ukraine in recent days have been marked with a white “Z” marking, leading to widespread speculation on social media and experts.

Photos and video of the vehicles show armored vehicles with a white “Z” painted on, often enclosed by a white square, triangle, or circle. The markings have also been spotted on other military vehicles, like supply trucks and amphibious rigs.

The marking is also strange for using the Roman “Z,” instead of the Cyrillic З (“Ze”) used in the Russian language and alphabet.

Most observers suggest the markings are meant to identify Russian vehicles to their troops to avoid friendly fire, reported the New York Post with the headline: "World War 'Z'?" There is historical precedent however, as similar markings were used by the U.S. during World War II for identification purposes.

Still, the ominous “Z” has confounded even Russia experts, who have been chiming in on social media.

Aric Toler, a reporter for the investigative news site Bellingcat, says his team has been monitoring Russian military symbols for the last eight years, but they have “no idea what they [the Zs] are” and haven’t seen them before.

“So, assume the worst, I guess/fear,” he wrote on Twitter.

Re: the "Zorro Squad", or all the Russian military vehicles that (starting today) have Latin Z's painted on their sides. Ruslan has been monitoring this stuff nonstop for 8 years and has no idea what they are, and hasn't seen it before. So, assume the worst, I guess/fear. https://t.co/PsiWQLjjDX

— Aric Toler (@AricToler) February 20, 2022

Rob Lee, a PhD student focused on Russia defense policy, speculated that the “Z” designated identify task forces assigned to different regions of Ukraine.

“It appears Russian forces near the border are painting markers, in this case “Z”, on vehicles to identify different task forces or echelons,” the academic tweeted over the weekend.

I wonder if the "Z" is big enough. https://t.co/jRXDKYBi9n pic.twitter.com/8XO7JvEGiK

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 19, 2022

Russia has had an estimated 150,000-190,000 troops stationed along the Ukrainian borders. The Kremlin launched an attack on the former Soviet block country early Thursday morning.