Pro-Russia students stand in eerie giant ‘Z’ formation to show support for war
Pro-Russia students have formed a giant Z formation to show support for the war in Ukraine.
Students and teachers took part in the protest at Damascus University in Syria on Wednesday (March 9).
The crowd assembled into the shape of a giant letter Z at the demonstration, with many people also waving Russian flags.
A giant flag of Russia was also on display, alongside one of Syria, suggesting a friendliness between the two countries which could potentially stem from Vladimir Putin's aid to Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War.
The Z symbol has been used by Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, supposedly with the purpose of avoiding any friendly fire.
Russia's defence ministry posted on Instagram last week saying that the symbol came from the Russian За победу, which begins with a "Z" sound and means "for the victory".
However, it has become associated with being in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been met with widespread condemnation from the international community.
Similarly, earlier this week students in the Russian city of Kazan were forced to take part in a Nazi-style flash mob.
In the sickening video, students can be seen chanting and fist-pumping the air while dressed in white clothing with the Z symbol painted on them.
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Participation was compulsory and students who refused to participate needed to have an explanatory note detailing the reason why they could not take part.
This week also saw internet giants Amazon come under fire for selling a range of clothing that had the eerie Z symbol marked on them.
Although the company quickly removed the products from its website, it was too late to avoid any criticism, with Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds saying that companies such as Amazon must “act responsibly” as the conflict tears apart lives in Europe.
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