An osint analysis by Oliver Alexander, with geo-localized photos and videos in all areas of the invasion of Putin’s army in Ukraine. And how the Kremlin propaganda tries to shuffle the cards
There is a lot circulating these days, in the Kremlin’s propaganda circuits, a graphic that contains misleading information on the symbols that appear on the vehicles of the Russian army that attacked Ukraine. The graphic claims that the now infamous Z would stand for “Russian Eastern Army”, the Z in a box for “Russian Crimean Forces”, the O for “Belarusian Armed Forces”, the V for “Russian Marines”, the X for “Chechen Forces”, the A for “Special Forces”, and finally it is explained that “Russian helicopters are gray”. Much of this valuable information is inaccurate, and likely serves to confuse the enemy and onlookers.
The reality observed through dozens of osint (open source intelligence) sources, geo-localized videos and photos, is another, and one of the best in this field helps us to decipher it, Oliver Alexander, of whom we report the analysis he shared. The first misconception to clear concerns the basic Z-marking: it can be seen on Russian units on all fronts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is also seen on the vehicles of the so-called “Republic of Donetsk”. In essence, Z is a unifying symbol, as can now also be seen from the Orwellian advertisements that appear on Russian state TVs, in which the police in riot gear, all dressed in black, mystically join with the Russian people to draw notes the Z in the streets. Orwellian symbol, but by no means limited to the “Eastern Russian Army”.
Это совсем какая-то абсолютная дичь. Досмотрите до конца. pic.twitter.com/aSDaPjVdan
– Тот самый Мартин (@martin_camera) March 16, 2022
The V marking is used for vehicles descending from the Belarusian border towards Kiev west of the Dnieper River (it has nothing to do with the Navy, this is disinformation to mislead, probably confusing the waters on the use of the Belarusian territory as a logistic platform of attack). Specifically, V refers to units that invaded Ukraine through the area near the Chernobyl zone.
The Z inside a box appears in virtually all units photographed in the area of the attack moved from the border near Belgorod with the aim of taking (or destroying / burning) Kharkiv. The vehicles moving inside the Crimea, in the invasion area that began in 2014, have a strange symbol as a mark that can be read as a diagonal Z, or a long white diagonal stripe, which basically appears as a Z on the back of the vehicles .
A circle with a black center was photographed and filmed on many vehicles crossing the border at Senkovka-Veselovka, in the early stages of the invasion, while it now appears on destroyed or abandoned vehicles (as if those vehicles were automatically considered “slaughter fodder. “, Without the soldiers knowing?). Alexander explains: “I assume it was initially to mark units bound for Chernihiv.”
Armored vehicles of the GRU (Russian military intelligence), in particular the Spetsnaz around Mariupol, have a small circle above, but clearly visible to observers. The Chechens have no symbols, they act almost like informal forces, they receive the markings based on where they are. Chechen units north of Kiev have a V printed on their vehicles.
To date, no Belarusian units have been sighted – at least officially – in Ukraine, but many Belarusian units have been seen and photographed after the invasion, as they approached the Ukrainian border. They are easily recognizable, because they are marked with a fairly large red square. Finally, a word about helicopters: yes, some helicopters are gray (and this is also told by Russian propaganda), “but they are also available in many other camouflage models”. The Kremlin’s purpose here is quite clear: to make the Ukrainian forces believe that helicopters of other colors are not Russian, which is already known as false by the Ukrainian forces.
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