Vincent Boland: ‘Z’ is for the zombie state that Putin has built on lies and paranoia

The first victims of Putin’s futile war are the people of Ukraine, but it is also a catastrophe for the Russian people who face long, dark years ahead

The letter Z has become a symbol of the Russian military: it may stand for ‘za pobedu’, a Russian term meaning ‘for victory, in which case it’s sadly misguided. Picture: AP

The letter Z has become a symbol of Vladimir Putin’s war on the people of Ukraine. It is an identifying mark on Russian tanks in the battlefield, adorns T-shirts on the home front, is displayed on advertising hoardings, and is sported by athletes and celebrities as a sign of their support for the war. Children have been filmed standing in Z-shaped formations singing the national anthem.

Since the letter Z is not in the Cyrillic ...