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Russia Today blasted for 'Ukraine invasion' merch with 'Z' symbol used on Putin's tanks

The Russia Today channel shared a link to their 'Z' merchandise with a tweet that said: 'RT has new merch. Let's support our guys in Ukraine'

Russia Today has come under fire for selling 'Z' merchandise in support of the country's bloody invasion of Ukraine. The state-controlled TV network began selling products bearing the symbol, seen on the sides of Russian military trucks in Ukraine, to "support" Russian troops.

The money raised will be used to help Donbass refugees and the heroes of the RT Children of War project, according to the statement. While some criticised the channel for profiting from the conflict, others commented that the 'Z' stood for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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It comes after UK's Tory MPs asked that the TV regulator take action against RT after the broadcaster referred to the invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation" to "liberate" the country. Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, was one of those who urged Ofcom to take "timely and transparent" action against the channel.

On Sunday morning, RT shared a link to their 'Z' merchandise on social media, stating that the station has 'new merch.' The tweet featured a variety of tops with the logo on them, all of which were on sale for roughly £12. "RT has new merch. Let's support our guys in Ukraine. We will start sending Z to our friends tomorrow. All proceeds from sales will go to help the refugees of Donbass and the heroes of the RT Children of War project," stated the message.

A tweeter user wrote, "Some RT (Russia Today) journalists may resign. But once propaganda, always propaganda: RT now sells shirts with this Z. The Russian military vehicles in Ukraine are marked with it. It says: 'For ours.'" 

Podcaster Kevin Rothrock also shared a screenshot of the tweet, saying: "Meta has disabled Russia Today’s monetization capacity on Facebook and Instagram, but on Twitter the outlet’s editor-in-chief can still share links to RT’s online store where it’s selling “Ukraine invasion merch.” @TwitterSupport, it’s time to deactivate these accounts."

Over the previous two days, the symbol has been seen on Russian tanks and other military vehicles crossing the border into Ukraine. Experts have speculated that the symbol painted on the sides of Russian military vehicles using white paint was a way to escape friendly fire during the fog of war, or to signal their deployed location.

Former director of the defence research tank Rusi, Professor Michael Clarke, told Sky News, "Often these symbols will be location based – they will be communicating where a unit is heading. If they were only to mark the vehicles as being Russian, you could just use one symbol. The fact that they are different tells you more – they are probably signs which tell you which units are heading to the north-east or north-west of a district, for example."

The strategy is similar to what UK and US soldiers did during the First Gulf War, when the allies dispatched to liberate Kuwait painted an unique upturned chevron on their trucks. When Russia's troops invaded Crimea in 2014, it utilized identical techniques on military vehicles.

Over the weekend, Tory MPs led calls for Russia Today to be banned from broadcasting in the UK. The idea that Ukrainian soldiers are "radical nationalists" who have unleashed a genocidal rule over Russians in their territory is one example of misinformation concerning the conflict. Despite photographs of injured Ukrainians and bombed-out tower blocks, its reporters have emphasized that the Russian military is not targeting civilians.

Several Russian television channels appeared to have been hacked last night, with Ukrainian songs replacing the usual programming. Russian government websites were down, and RT was unavailable for several hours. The identity of the hackers is unknown, but the Anonymous hacking collective has declared "war" on Russia and some of these online shutdowns may be related to their 'hacktivism.'