Ukraine, in Germany, it would be punishable to display the symbol “Z” for the Russian invasion

The ban does not refer to any use of the letter “Z”, but only refers to it in connection with the war in Ukraine.

Several individual German states are moving in this direction

, in particular the city – the state of Berlin, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein. The legal basis for the ban would be Section 140 of the Criminal Code, which states that direct consent to specific crimes is punishable by three years’ imprisonment.

Initially, the letter “Z” – believed to symbolize “za pobedu” (meaning “victory”) – was initially used to mark the entry of Russian tanks into Ukraine, as a propaganda symbol in approval of the “invasion”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on other countries to follow Germany’s lead

With a post on Twitter: “Z stands for Russian war crimes, cities bombed, thousands of Ukrainians killed. Public support for this barbarism must be banned.”

there

Lithuania

, among other countries, is considering banning the symbol. If approved, violators can be fined up to 500 euros.