Ukraine-News: Risk of confusion in the war - insurer Zurich removes logo

Created: 03/28/2022, 16:42

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

Against the background of the war in Ukraine, the Swiss insurance group Zurich avoids the company logo "Z".

© Ennio Leanza/dpa

The letter "Z" became a Russian propaganda symbol during the Ukraine war.

This is now also a problem for the Swiss insurance group Zurich.

Zurich - In the Ukraine war, the letter "Z" has become a symbol for the war and Putin supporters in Russia.

The letter is on Russian military vehicles and tanks attacking Ukraine*.

Putin supporters display the "Z" on cars or T-shirts to demonstrate support for Russia's war on Ukraine.

The symbol is said to stand for "Za Pobedu" - "For Victory".

A famous example is the Russian scandal gymnast Ivan Kuljak, who appeared at the award ceremony at the end of the World Cup tournament in Doha in early March with a “Z” on his suit.

The athlete is now threatened with a ban.

Ukraine war: Zurich wants to avoid its company logo

The new Russian war symbol has also posed a problem for the Swiss insurance group Zurich: the company uses its initials as an identifier - and now wants to avoid its company logo "Z" in the course of the Ukraine conflict*.

"We are temporarily removing the use of the letter 'Z' from social channels where it appears isolated and could be misunderstood," the company confirmed on Sunday.

The logo can still be seen on the Group website.

Ukraine war: "Z" as a war symbol punishable in Germany

Incidentally, in Germany, showing the "Z" symbol as support for the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine can be punishable.

The letter itself cannot be banned, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior on Monday in Berlin.

However, public approval of a war of aggression could be punishable.

This would then have to be clarified by courts in individual cases

The Federal Ministry of the Interior welcomes the announcement by some countries that they want to examine whether the public use of the symbol is punishable, the spokesman said.

Previously, after Bavaria and Lower Saxony, Berlin had also announced that it wanted to take action against the sign of the Russian army in the Ukraine war.

"If the context of the war is created with the use of the white Z, as can be seen on the Russian military vehicles, then of course that means advocating a war of aggression," Berlin Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) told the Tagesspiegel on Monday.

"That would be a punishable offence, so we'll intervene immediately."

Würzburg church wall daubed with "Z" symbols

Spranger said she spoke to Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and shares Lower Saxony's position.

"We support it like the Interior Minister of Lower Saxony." In addition to the three federal states, North Rhine-Westphalia also announced an examination at the weekend.

The basis for the actions of the federal states is paragraph 140 of the Criminal Code, which makes the approval of certain offenses a punishable offence.

Up to three years imprisonment or a fine are possible.

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the security authorities have information that the symbol is already being used in Germany.

So far, it has mainly been paint smears.

For example, a church wall in Würzburg was daubed with several "Z" symbols.