The incident was reported in multiple German media outlets yesterday, including Der Spiegel.
According to the police, the 47-year-old Austrian driver was spotted in a rest stop on Wednesday near Illertissen in Bavaria. Besides his stunt being crass and offensive to the people of war-torn Ukraine and many others, the display of the Z sign can be considered a criminal offence in Germany in some circumstances.
As a result, the lorry driver was fined €2,500 euros. Although the trucker was allowed to continue his journey after removing the symbol and accompanying text from his vehicle, he is now the subject of a criminal investigation.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Z symbols have been seen sprayed on many Russian military vehicles. A lot of Russian equipment has nonetheless also been sprayed with the letters O, X, A and V. Sometimes they are painted inside shapes such as triangles, squares and others.
It is thought the letters and symbols have been allocated in such a way as to determine where the vehicles should be deployed.
However, the Z has been the most prominent sign, and was quickly adopted in Russia as patriotic symbol by far-right groups. Since then, its use has become more widespread in Russia and among those who support its military.
Photo: pxhere.com