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Blizzard removes pro-Russia war symbol from Zarya skins in Overwatch

The Russian "Z" symbol on Zarya skins has been adopted by Russians who support the invasion of Ukraine.

www.pcgamer.com

The Overwatch Anniversary Remix(opens in new tab) event kicked off yesterday with in-game rewards including a range of fan-favorite skins. But users on Reddit and the Blizzard forums quickly noticed that at least a couple of them have been subtly altered: The "Z" that was previously on Zarya's Arctic(opens in new tab) and Siberian Front(opens in new tab) skins is no longer there.

The Z is clearly a Zarya monogram, but more recently it's gained infamy as the symbol used by Russian forces invading Ukraine. The letter doesn't actually exist in the Cyrillic alphabet, leading to speculation that it's an anglicized abbreviation of the Russian word for "West," or a phrase meaning "for victory." Either way, it's also been adopted by segments of the Russian public as a symbol of their support for the war.



Blizzard hasn't yet commented on the removal, but it seems almost impossible that the change could have been made for any other reason. Zarya—full name Aleksandra Zaryanova—was a Russian soldier prior to joining Overwatch, and regardless of original intent, the presence of that "Z" on her uniform is incredibly inappropriate now.

Despite Blizzard's silence, there's no mistaking the change—as you can see in these before-and-after pictures shared by ProtoVI on Reddit(opens in new tab), the Z is clearly gone:

It's an unusual but not unprecedented move: Blizzard has previously modified Tracer's victory pose(opens in new tab) after fans complained the original design was oversexualized, and stopped releasing unique skins based on Overwatch League MVPs after 2019 winner Jay "Sinatraa" Won was accused of sexual assault(opens in new tab) by an ex-girlfriend.

I've reached out to Blizzard for comment on the change, and will update if I receive a reply.

 

[01011001]

they should have kept it, don't let yourself get censored by scum like the russian army.

the better way to go about things would have been to keep the Z and maybe add a voice line where other characters ask about it, and then make her say some pro Ukrainian answer. that would raise awareness without self censoring due to human scum like that

 

[Abriael_GN]

they should have kept it, don't let yourself get censored by scum like the russian army.

the better way to go about things would have been to keep the Z and maybe add a voice line where other characters ask about it, and then make her say some pro Ukrainian answer. that would raise awareness without self censoring due to human scum like that

If you were being bombed by an army that utilizes that symbol, and that army was committing literal war crimes against your people, perhaps you'd think differently.

Let's not forget that there are gamers among Ukrainians. I imagine many of them (who still can) are using gaming as a way to destress and get their mind off the shit they're going through. They really don't need to be exposed to the symbol of the army that is literally fucking their lives up, on a russian character with a military background. The association was random when it was made, but it's damn close to home for many.

This is made even worse when toxic russian assholes are using that symbol in the games they're still allowed to play to taunt Ukrainian players (and everyone else, really), and yes. It's happening.

This isn't something of any importance to the character. It was probably slapped there by the original artist to make the texture feel less empty. Nothing of any artistic value was lost, and I guarantee that the original artist definitely did not intend to associate the character with what that symbol means now. I'm pretty confident they're happy it's gone if they didn't initiate its removal themselves.

If I happen to design a character and then that character design ends up being associated with literal war crimes and atrocities, I'm definitely not gonna feel "censored" if that association is removed. I'm gonna feel relieved.

Censorship is bad, but not all changes are censorship. Some times an artist just wants to change something for entirely legitimate reasons. This is certainly a very legitimate reason.

 

[FearlessBelgian]

Rofl

 

[Aenima]

Zorro, hide, ur next.

 

[ManaByte]

Zorro, hide, ur next.

 

[remember_spinal]

This will go about as well as the freedom fries and freedom toast rebrand

 

[Sp3eD]

This is as dumb as the “ok” sign being turned into some white power symbol even though for hundreds of years it was the universal sign for saying “ok”. We as society need to not back down from idiot losers taking away gestures and phrases and instead mock them for how unoriginal it is. If they want something to stick they need to actually be original and clever.

 

[ManaByte]

This is as dumb as the “ok” sign being turned into some white power symbol even though for hundreds of years it was the universal sign for saying “ok”. We as society need to not back down from idiot losers taking away gestures and phrases and instead mock them for how unoriginal it is. If they want something to stick they need to actually be original and clever.

 

[jaysius]

I can't believe how insensitive you are to post that propaganda! /s

 

[Pegasus Actual]

The Russians are also using V:

Can someone use that fact and uhhh... ya know... the uhhh Twitter to get rid of this piece of shit movie from the planet?

Stretch goal of me somehow getting my two hours back 15 years ago.

 

[Nydius]

Given Blizzard's track record with knee-jerk reactions with Overwatch characters for social clout, I'm surprised they didn't completely retcon her character and make her Ukrainian rather than Russian, updating all her skins to replace all Russian flags and iconography.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

who cares that they removed it, who cares that they didnt.

 

[Barakov]

.....Sounds pretty on brand for the current Blizzard.

 

[ParaSeoul]

Wait until they find out out what that black sun Ukrainian soldiers like so much means

 

[Saaleh]

Ok... [Western Logic] is pretty much dead. It is extremely toxic everyone is suffocating including western people. No authority/person in the world (with a good intention for earth) is proud when they are commanded to go along with this freaky unbalanced logic, Decisions like in this article are pointless and forced and only insult the dignity and intelligence of russian people and delay a solution for ukrainian people and make people hate each other over the conflict of these self serving governments. Even biden said there will be new world order because from how we see it they lost control of constructing and maintaining their own self serving logic. It is so toxic they themselves gave up on fixing it. It is so toxic we get to taste these illogical decisions.

Solution: [Biden / Putin / Zelensky] sign neutrality and we all move on and continue living in this already oppressive self serving world governments..
But Reality: Ukrain still wants to be '' the BIG version [empire] of israel '' with nato privileges and want to defeat russia because it is the ''cool thing'', not '' trusting russia commitment in a neutrality agreement '' is not an excuse. If russia breaks it, the world can react accordingly so what zelensky is doing is as GUILTY as Putin if NOT MORE in triggering this war. in this reality we all continue to be 1000x depressed because of a world war NUCLEAR threat. Ukrainian and russian people taste more pointless death and hunger along side all of us. Biden and america government is as guilty in triggering this war and fuelling its crimes across [Ukrain, Russia and all over the WORLD].

Instead of dealing with the reality and a solution, we get these articles/decisions.

 

[SumJester]

If it was a Z on some character yeah it would be stupid. But the character is Russian, so it does have some justification this time.

Justification as in Blizzard's branding.

 

[The Cockatrice]

But the letter Z is from her name? Sure she is russian but that doesnt mean she has anything to do with the war. She is fucking fictional. If some random russian has Z in his/her name should we cancel them automatically from everything? It's a stupid censorship. We should not censor/condemn or cancel fictional or real russians just because their country leaders are pieces of human garbage.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

BAN ZORO NEXT!

 

[Abriael_GN]

Solution: [Biden / Putin / Zelensky] sign neutrality and we all move on and continue living in this already oppressive self serving world governments..
But Reality: Ukrain still wants to be '' the BIG version [empire] of israel '' with nato privileges and want to defeat russia because it is the ''cool thing'', not '' trusting russia commitment in a neutrality agreement '' is not an excuse. If russia breaks it, the world can react accordingly so what zelensky is doing is as GUILTY as Putin if NOT MORE in triggering this war. in this reality we all continue to be 1000x depressed because of a world war NUCLEAR threat. Ukrainian and russian people taste more pointless death and hunger along side all of us. Biden and america government is as guilty in triggering this war and fuelling its crimes across [Ukrain, Russia and all over the WORLD].

What an absolutely ignorant view.

1: Ukraine literally already offered neutrality during the talks they had in Turkey. That did not go anywhere because Putin doesn't just want neutrality. He also wants the recognition of Crimea and the secessionist republics, if not more. He needs a territorial and "moral" (quotation marks mandatory) victory to wave around with the russian people and show he's the big boss to consolidate his power, making people forget about the massive domestic issues russia has, which is a typical strategy dictators love to use.
2: Those conditions are not acceptable, because accepting them would mean giving a big loud signal that invading a sovereign country is a legitimate way to assert whatever territorial claim, throwing the basics of modern international law into the shredder. Rewarding invasion and war crimes with any kind of gain would be extremely detrimental from every point of view. So what's next? if putin wakes up the next morning and decides he wants another country, should the world let him take it? If China wants Taiwan, should the world let them do whatever they want?
3: saying that Zelenski, Biden, America, or the west are guilty of anything isn't just stupid. It's also despicable. Zelenski and the west aren't the invaders. putin has done all the invading completely one-sidely. His "security concerns" are pure fiction, because no one gave the slightest signal of having any intention of invading or attacking russia in an armed conflict. The demand of neutrality is a literal and rather pathetic excuse to assert much larger ambitions.

Absolutely clueless people like you who have been quaffing down disgusting russian propaganda like Koolaid and think they have the "easy solution" are the problem, not the removal of a letter from a costume in a game.

 

[Saaleh]

What an absolutely ignorant view.

1: Ukraine already offered neutrality during the talks they had in Turkey. That did not go anywhere because Putin doesn't just want neutrality. He also wants the recognition of Crimea and the secessionist republics, if not more.
2: Those conditions are not acceptable, because accepting them would mean accepting that invading a sovereign country is a legitimate way to assert whatever territorial claim, throwing the basics of modern international law into the shredder. Rewarding invasion and war crimes with any kind of gain would be extremely detrimental from every point of view. So what's next? if putin wakes up the next morning and decides he wants another country, should the world let him take it? If China wants Taiwan, should the world let them do whatever they want?
3: saying that Zelenski, Biden, America, or the west are guilty of anything isn't just stupid. It's also despicable. Zelenski and the west aren't the invaders. putin has done all the invading completely one-sidely. His "security concerns" are pure fiction, because no one gave the slightest signal of having any intention of invading or attacking russia in an armed conflict.

Absolutely clueless people like you that have been quaffing down disgusting russian propaganda like Koolaid and think they have the "easy solution" are the problem, not the removal of a letter from a costume in a game.

You can believe whatever you want to believe. My issue is not with you.

 

[Abriael_GN]

You can believe whatever you want to believe. My issue is not with you. ^^

Translation of the above "I don't have an argument at all, so I won't respond."

That's not what I "believe." That's simple fact based on what happened over the past 8+ years.

Wars aren't solved with a magic wand, and kowtowing to putin pleading neutrality won't magically make him say "oh, sure, let me withdraw my army from the invasion I've been preparing for a decade, we're all friends now." This is simply a fact. The neutrality card has been played and it didn't work because the demand for neutrality is no more than deception. That's not what putin wants.

 

[Calling 911 Melts Beams]

She is also in a lesbian relationship with girl ratchet

 

[Saaleh]

Translation of the above "I don't have an argument at all, so I won't respond."

That's not what I "believe." That's simple fact based on what happened over the past 8+ years.

We both have little influence to these issues so why bother arguing with you ^^. You see me as confused i see you as confused. One fact is clear, Contradictions of the [west governments] showing up to the [west people] day by day. West people are no longer attached to their governments [people of the west no longer feel like they are angels fighting devils], why? because all these internal and external lies are destroying everything even their own lifes. Empowering Zelensky's and Biden's aggressions will STRENGTHEN and ''justify'' putin's aggressions. So it is your lost when you act like angels instead of fixing the disaster. We are used to the pain.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

This world is so f'd nowadays. Anything and everything can be appropriated .

 

[Braag]

Solution: [Biden / Putin / Zelensky] sign neutrality and we all move on and continue living in this already oppressive self serving world governments..
But Reality: Ukrain still wants to be '' the BIG version [empire] of israel '' with nato privileges and want to defeat russia because it is the ''cool thing'', not '' trusting russia commitment in a neutrality agreement '' is not an excuse. If russia breaks it, the world can react accordingly so what zelensky is doing is as GUILTY as Putin if NOT MORE in triggering this war. in this reality we all continue to be 1000x depressed because of a world war NUCLEAR threat. Ukrainian and russian people taste more pointless death and hunger along side all of us. Biden and america government is as guilty in triggering this war and fuelling its crimes across [Ukrain, Russia and all over the WORLD].

Instead of dealing with the reality and a solution, we get these articles/decisions.

 

[NiiloPielinen]

This is as dumb as the “ok” sign being turned into some white power symbol even though for hundreds of years it was the universal sign for saying “ok”. We as society need to not back down from idiot losers taking away gestures and phrases and instead mock them for how unoriginal it is. If they want something to stick they need to actually be original and clever.

Except people with Z symbol are right now actually murdering, torturing & raping civilians in Ukraine. Kids under 10 years old. Raped. Executed with hands being tied behind their backs.

Fuck Russia. Fuck every russian who has not opposed Putin. Fuck every /pol/ kool aid drinking sycophant who defends them in any way.

Sorry if fucking mass murder interferes with your vidya.

 

[Abriael_GN]

We both have little influence to these issues so why bother arguing with you ^^. You see me as confused i see you as confused. One fact is clear, Contradictions of the [west governments] showing up to the [west people] day by day. West people are no longer attached to their governments [people of the west no longer feel like the are angels fighting devils], why? because of all these internal and external lies. Empowering Zelensky's and Biden's aggressions will empower and ''justify'' putin's actions. So it is your lost when you act like angels instead of fixing the disaster. We are used to the pain.

Zelensky and Biden's aggressions? What aggressions? Who did Zelensky and Binden invade? There's only one "aggressor" here.

Incidentally, you really shouldn't talk for "west people." You obviously don't know a thing about how we feel. I promise you, you don't have a single clue.

Sounds like you may be russian and have been quaffing putin's propaganda with big greedy gulps. If that's the case, let me give you some clues. putin's war is failing. A nation 28 times smaller is kicking his big and massively incompetent/critically corrupt army in the arse, and that's why they're resorting to well documented war crimes and atrocities, since they're losing men, tanks, and materials like candy and can't make any gains with conventional warfare. russia is going to lose this war and will have to pay for it for generations.

If you're not russian and you don't have the excuse of being misled by corrupt putin-directed media, and you still believe what you're saying, then it's even worse.

 

[Saaleh]

Zelensky and Biden's aggressions? What aggressions? Who did Zelensky and Binden invade?

Incidentally, you really shouldn't talk for "west people." You obviously don't know a thing about how we feel. I promise you, you don't have a single clue.

Sounds like you may be russian and have been quaffing putin's propaganda with big greedy gulps. If that's the case, let me give you some clues. putin's war is failing. A nation 28 times smaller is kicking his big and massively incompetent/critically corrupt army in the arse. russia is going to lose this war, and will have to pay for it for generations.

If you're not russian, and you still believe what you're saying, then it's even worse.

Cool, blame putin's propaganda and ignore your own mess. I wish you luck with the new [big Israel project] in europe.

We are used to the pain. That pain i don't wish for you to feel, that's why i'm sharing my view. Soon the majority of the west people will start to look for their own mistakes and start fixing up [regardless of their self serving governments]. The middle east people are certainly fixing up their views and easier for them to side with what's peaceful for them. Extremists in all sides are falling.

 

[jigglet]

The same Blizzard that fucked Blitzchung? lolz

 

[Abriael_GN]

Cool, blame putin's propaganda and ignore your own mess. I wish you luck with the new [big Israel project] in europe.

We are used to the pain. That pain i don't wish for you to feel. Soon the majority of the west people will start to look for their own mistakes and start fixing up [regardless of their self serving governments]

So you are russian. I honestly feel pity for you. You're completely blind to reality, living in a bubble putin created to keep you under his heel. Several thousands of your soldiers have already been killed in Ukraine. Your tanks are being destroyed by the hundreds by missiles that cost 100 times less. Several thousands more russian people will die for putin's nonsensical ambition until he can't pay for his war anymore, because your economy is breaking at the seams like a card castle.

Instead of being on a forum protesting against the west (unless you're trolling, which I won't exclude), which you know nothing about, you should worry about the well-documented war crimes and atrocities that your people are committing and that will be judged by history. It's already happening. Today the United Nations general assembly is going to vote to kick russia out of the Human Rights Commission. I sincerely hope for you that you're not drafted next time putin needs more cannon fodder to send to ukraine to get killed for his personal gain. Dying for nothing more than a dictator's egotism and greed sucks.

 

[Saaleh]

So you are russian. I honestly feel pity for you. Several thousands of your soldiers have already being killed in Ukraine. Your tanks are being destroyed by the hundreds by missiles that cost 100 times less. Several thousands more russian people will die for putin's nonsensical ambition until he can't pay for his war anymore, because your economy is failing.

Instead of being on a forum protesting against the west (unless you're trolling, which I won't exclude) you should worry about the well documented war crimes and atrocities your people are committing, and will be judged by history. I hope for you that you're not drafted next time putin needs more soldiers to send to ukraine to get killed for his personal gain. Dying for nothing more than a dictator's egotism sucks.

I'm not russian. I'm talking about middle east, i'm from there.. We are used to wrong assumptions like yours, extremists in our islamic sects all act like you, each extremist sect act self righteous, angels vs devils, extremists in both our worlds enjoy your views because it only fuel confusion. I hope some day you realise the lies of the west governments, you see me as confused and i see you as confused but i respect you since your mistakes maybe out of ignorance of how extremists influence us all. If putin is evil, biden is far more evil too, but we prefer if both putin and biden fix the issue instead of accusing each other. Maybe yemen will have peace soon, maybe we celebrate that soon and learn from that yemeni war both of us. If yemen can have peace with saudi than why not ukrain with russia ? aren't you civlized and advanced people compared to us ? Teach us how you form peace instead of us teaching you.

 

[Abriael_GN]

I'm not russian. I'm talking about middle east, i'm from there.. We are used to wrong assumptions like yours, extremists in our islamic sects all act like you, each extremist sect act self righteous, angels vs devils, extremists in both our worlds enjoy your views because it only fuel confusion. I hope some day you realise the lies of the west governments, you see me as confused and i see you as confused but i respect you since your mistakes maybe out of ignorance of how extremists influence us all. If putin is evil, biden is far more evil too, but we prefer if both putin and biden fix the issue instead of accusing each other. Maybe yemen will have peace soon, maybe we celebrate that soon and learn from that yemeni war both of us. If yemen can have peace with saudi than why not ukrain with russia ? aren't you civlized and advanced people compared to us ? Teach us how you form peace instead of us teaching you.

I'm glad for you that you aren't russian. But I'm sorry to say that your vision of the west is laughably ignorant. Thinking that "Biden is far more evil" than putin is ludicrous. Biden has not invaded a sovereign country with zero provocation, sending his army to commit well-documented war crimes and atrocities against its innocent people. And it isn't even the first time putin does this. The comparison is absolutely ridiculous.

Why can't Ukraine and russia have peace?

Because putin doesn't want peace with Ukraine. If he wanted peace with Ukraine, he wouldn't have invaded Ukraine. I'm fairly sure this isn't a difficult concept to grasp.

 

[Saaleh]

I'm glad for you that you aren't russian. But I'm sorry to say that your vision of the west is laughably ignorant. Thinking that "Biden is far more evil" than putin is ludicrous. Biden has not invaded a sovereign country with zero provocation, sending his army to commit well-documented war crimes and atrocities against its innocent people. And it isn't even the first time putin does this. The comparison is absolutely ridiculous.

Why can't Ukraine and russia have peace?

Because putin doesn't want peace with Ukraine. If he wanted peace with Ukraine, he wouldn't have invaded Ukraine. I'm fairly sure this isn't a difficult concept to grasp.

What do we learn from yemen war ?
1_ Neutrality is solution [no saudi] [no iran] [no usa]
2_ yemen war is fueled by USA. so acting like saudi is evil or yemeni is evil DID NOOOOT SOLVE THE ISSUE. USA has the power to stop these wars but in reality USA invest in this chaos until last drop of blood/money/oil.
3_ SAudi proves that If you don't stop interfering in other countries the pain will eventually reach to you, then you will beg for peace yourself and all this '' righteousness '' will bite your butt and it will be too late. saudia IS forced to stop the war to maintain its economics. It wasn't out of good will, they feel pain. So same thing will happen in ukrain.
4_ Zelensk's actions and words [before the war to this DAY] contradict all your views. You just lose track of it and always take the mistranslation of what he says.
5_ USA is the reason why this war is triggered by interfering and fueling war, USA is the reason why this war is still going on, NATO is the reason. In feb zelensky the one who rejected peace saying russian not be trusted in their agreement. So if zelensky want peace he would of begged for it all over the place but his statements and actions says the opposite of neutrality. Even russia retreated to give them a chance yet today zelenski says ukrain will become a big israel. Screw putin, but you claim that zelenski and biden want peace but we only see FLAMES from their actions.
6_ Since when did usa ever did a good thing when it comes to war ? So please fix yourself before you allow extremists to destroy what little you have.

7_ nothing wrong with being russian or american or middle east or ukrainian. If i was russian i would be proud, if i was american i would be proud, why ? because i'm fixing my self and i'm not slave to these governments. That's why i love being middle east person.
8_ I wish you nothing but peace. these wars are ugly and won't have mercy on you or me. These presidents you love don't really care about you or me or ukrain.

 

[Revolutionary]

On a related note, I've seen people asking Square Enix to remove the "Z" title from FFXIV. But I think it's supposed to be a reference to Gundam or something. Either way, it's not getting removed lol

I wonder if SE would remove the Z title? - Page 3

And replace it with something else. Just a suggestion of course.

forum.square-enix.com

 

[Fuz]

Beautiful and brave gesture.

 

[CuNi]

I will be honest.
I am rarely a fan of censorship or catering to specific demographics... but this, I support this.

Abriael_GN has already said it very well, and I can only support this decision.
When Symbols like the Z or the Swastika are used by parties to not "just" oppress but outright commit genocide, war crimes and many many more atrocities, whatever meaning the Symbol had in the past, even if it were a sign of peace sadly gets tainted and should be censored. People worldwide and especially those directly affected by those actions, don't need to be reminded of what is happening wherever they go. Those people have to face the reality of this war probably whenever they look away from the PC, or even while gaming when bombs hit their cities. The least people can do is to take the symbols out of their games to at least allow those people to take their mind off those things, even if just for a little.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Except people with Z symbol are right now actually murdering, torturing & raping civilians in Ukraine. Kids under 10 years old. Raped. Executed with hands being tied behind their backs.

Fuck Russia. Fuck every russian who has not opposed Putin. Fuck every /pol/ kool aid drinking sycophant who defends them in any way.

Sorry if fucking mass murder interferes with your vidya.

Imagine if we removed everything that is associated with every murderer. That guy is called kevin and mass murdered people, guess we should remove and ban the fucking Kevin name permanently. Z comes from the characters name, a fictional character. It has nothing with do with the real life criminals. Lets put in in a different perspective. If she wasnt russian would the removal be ok? If your trashy gf has Z tattooed on her ass cheeck, are you going to stop smasing her and force her to change it?

 

[Azurro]

...

Solution: [Biden / Putin / Zelensky] sign neutrality and we all move on and continue living in this already oppressive self serving world governments..
But Reality: Ukrain still wants to be '' the BIG version [empire] of israel '' with nato privileges and want to defeat russia because it is the ''cool thing'', not '' trusting russia commitment in a neutrality agreement '' is not an excuse. If russia breaks it, the world can react accordingly so what zelensky is doing is as GUILTY as Putin if NOT MORE in triggering this war. in this reality we all continue to be 1000x depressed because of a world war NUCLEAR threat. Ukrainian and russian people taste more pointless death and hunger along side all of us. Biden and america government is as guilty in triggering this war and fuelling its crimes across [Ukrain, Russia and all over the WORLD].

Priviet Tovarish, pay at misinformation ministry is good, da? Khorosho, khorosho.

Seriously, how the fuck is fighting back against an existential threat as Russia somehow "the cool thing"? You equating Russia and Ukraine on anything is monstrous. Tell that to the cousin of my ukranian friend that had to flee and lost what she had there, tell that to the corpses of people in Bucha indiscriminately killed by the russian army. "Zielinsky tries to do the cool thing", this is the most imbecile take on the war I've read, and I've read a lot.

You are criminally ignorant, if this is your opinion. There is war because Russia wants war and Putin wants the territories and influence of the "glorious" USSR back. That's it.

If you are a russian troll, you are lower than scum.

 

[Saaleh]

Priviet Tovarish, pay at misinformation ministry is good, da? Khorosho, khorosho.

Seriously, how the fuck is fighting back against an existential threat as Russia somehow "the cool thing"? You equating Russia and Ukraine on anything is monstrous. Tell that to the cousin of my ukranian friend that had to flee and lost her life there that, tell that to the corpses of people in Bucha indiscriminately killed by the russian army.

You are criminally ignorant, if this is your opinion. If you are a russian troll, you are lower than scum.

Well you guys claim that i follow lies of putin, i also believe that you follow the lies of USA government and you never learn from previous USA WARS. The difference between me and you is that I question all sides, how many fabricated ''Crimes'' were mentioned by USA ? Countless even in ukrain. I may not believe in putin but i fixed up my brain and heart and also don't believe all these baseless media accusations until proven properly from both sides, what we see in the media is [ ''media war'' '' spreading misinformation''] as usa ADMITTED to do. The difference between you and me is that i don't insult you or degrade you.. I don't jump to conclusions on you or on these accusations because i want this war to end not fuel it. If putin crimes are this disgusting than zelenskiy crimes also should be as disgusting. But you only question one side. judge zelenskiy like you judge putin, be skeptical with zelenskiy as you are with putin than ok call me scum and troll. But it is clear how you treat me that you are one sided , hope one day you see your mistakes.

 

[Azurro]

Well you guys claim that i follow lies of putin, i also believe that you follow the lies of USA government and you never learn from previous USA WARS. The difference between me and you is that I question all sides, how many fabricated ''Crimes'' were mentioned by USA ? Countless even in ukrain. I may not believe in putin but i fixed up my brain and heart and also don't believe all these baseless media accusations until proven properly from both sides, what we see in the media is media war as usa ADMITTED to do. The difference between you and me is that i don't insult you or degrade you.. I don't jump to conclusions on you or on these accusations because i want this war to end not fuel it. If putin crimes are this disgusting than zelenskiy crimes also should be as disgusting. But you only question one side. judge zelenskiy like you judge putin, be skeptical with zelenskiy as you are with putin than ok call me scum and troll. But it is clear how you treat me that you are one sided , hope one day you see your mistakes.

Shut it with the imbecilic takes and show me proof of these "crimes" by Zielinsky, they have to come from reputable news sources, nor RT. If you are going to come with this level of stupidity and share it with the rest of the forum, then you have to prove your claims. Otherwise, stfu.

I'm pretty damn sure you are a russian troll anyway.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[VN1X]

*slow clap*

Blizzard is probably one of the wokest (and hypocritical) company's around right now so expect them to keep retconning all their art until there's nothing left.

 

[Saaleh]

Shut it with the imbecilic takes and show me proof of these "crimes" by Zielinsky, they have to come from reputable news sources, nor RT. If you are going to come with this level of stupidity and share it with the rest of the forum, then you have to prove your claims. Otherwise, stfu.

I'm pretty damn sure you are a russian troll anyway.

It is not my job or your job to prove these crimes. We don't have the tools to do that. Our duty is to observe and filter contradictions and make sense of things and follow what makes sense to us and what we perceive is right, your job and my job is to maintain an honest and fair heart out of external influence like usa or russia or ukrain [regardless i am right or you are right, we both must protect ourselves from these money freaks], i don't have authority to judge your heart nor can you judge my honesty. Just try your best and i will try my best not to be fooled. We have governments or detectives that are neutral in this conflict and they can do investigations. Just like in iraq, syria, libya, freaking isis and extremists, pakistan, yemen..etc , eventually truth shows up in ukrain. So if i am right i excuse your ignorance because we all were ignorant at one point. I just wish you were not so harsh with people who disagree with you. The way you react to me you it is clear that you will never take what i say seriously so why bother asking me? Just try your best to be a fair human being.

 

[Azurro]

It is not my job or your job to prove these crimes. We don't have the tools to do that. Our duty is to observe and filter contradictions and make sense of things and follow what makes sense to us and what is right, your job and my job is to maintain an honest and fair heart out of external influence like usa or russia or ukrain [regardless i am right or you are right, we both must protect ourselves from these money freaks], i don't have authority to judge your heart nor can you judge my honesty. Just try your best and i will try my best not to be fooled. We have governments or detectives that are neutral in this conflict and they can do investigations. Just like in iraq, syria, libya, freaking isis and extremists, pakistan, yemen..etc , eventually truth shows up in ukrain. So if i am right i excuse your ignorance because we all were ignorant at one point. I just wish you were not so harsh with people who disagree with you. The way you react to me you it is clear that you will never take what i say seriously so why bother asking me? Just try your best to be a fair human being.

Tell me these "contradictions", none of these vague bs statements. You say you have proof, then show it. Show me proofs of your claims about Zielinsky's crimes that justify Russia attacking Ukraine and the supposed crimes in this war by Ukraine.

You just sound like an imbecile tbh.

 

[VN1X]

Tell me these "contradictions", none of these vague bs statements. You say you have proof, then show it. Show me proofs of your claims about Zielinsky's crimes that justify Russia attacking Ukraine and the supposed crimes in this war by Ukraine.

You just sound like an imbecile tbh.

You do realize Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries around right? And that Zelensky is propagating policies from the previous administration that have led to all kinds of atrocities in Eastern Ukraine. Or what about the countless "summer camps" where kids get indoctrinated with Nazi ideologies and learn to use firearms. The man is no saint. Just recently he outright 'suspended' 11 opposition parties. Must be nice to have a war roll around and outright silence any and all voices in your own government because that sure as shit ain't the hallmark of a dictatorship.

Also it's pretty funny (sad) that once February 2022 rolled around everyone was going suddenly going "Slava Ukraini". Oof. This is the media before 2022:

Putin is a WEF puppet and is no better obviously.

 

[Azurro]

VN1X take a look at this video, before spreading propaganda.



The Azov batallion, which is the element that is regarded as the Nazis in Ukraine. This battalion is of a size of about 900 members:

Profile: Who are Ukraine’s far-right Azov regiment?

The regiment, which has been accused of neo-Nazi ties, has since been absorbed in the national army.

www.aljazeera.com

Of these, a spokesman claimed less than 20% of its members are nazi:

Ukrainian unit accused of Neo-Nazi links wants Canada’s help

Ukraine’s Azov Battalion is looking for help from Canada. Unit members are not happy with being branded as Neo-Nazis. Recently, U.S. lawmakers voted unanimously to …

ottawacitizen.com

Even if we are generous and say all 900 members are Nazis, the Ukranian forces are of more than 200,000 members, so that represents less than 1% of the troops are Nazis. This is a distortion of the truth, which is a funny claim given that Zielinsky is jewish.

 

[VN1X]

VN1X take a look at this video, before spreading propaganda.



The Azov batallion, which is the element that is regarded as the Nazis in Ukraine. This battalion is of a size of about 900 members:

Profile: Who are Ukraine’s far-right Azov regiment?

The regiment, which has been accused of neo-Nazi ties, has since been absorbed in the national army.

www.aljazeera.com

Of these, a spokesman claimed less than 20% of its members are nazi:

Ukrainian unit accused of Neo-Nazi links wants Canada’s help

Ukraine’s Azov Battalion is looking for help from Canada. Unit members are not happy with being branded as Neo-Nazis. Recently, U.S. lawmakers voted unanimously to …

ottawacitizen.com

Even if we are generous and say all 900 members are Nazis, the Ukranian forces are of more than 200,000 members, so that represents less than 1% of the troops are Nazis. This is a distortion of the truth, which is a funny claim given that Zielinsky is jewish.

"Just a fringe minority" then.

You are still going to disregard the treatment of Eastern Ukrainians?

Look I get it, we're stuck in an information war so it's easy to fall in certain trappings; saying that it should be more than obvious that we should be careful when it comes to what we regard as truth and what isn't. Finging ad hominems around isn't going to get us anywhere though.

The reason some people have such a aggressive response though is because ever since February everyone is suddenly a geo-political expert on a conflict which has been going on for decades. It's easy to think in black and white worldviews where Russia is the big baddy and Ukraine is the poor helpless and innocent factor in this story. I'm merely positing that the Ukrainian regime is just that, a regime installed by western influence to serve western interests. Again, Putin isn't the good guy here but you accuse me of "spreading propaganda" when I could call you out on the exact same.

 

[Wildebeest]

How can anyone call this censorship, like Blizzard were trying to communicate some radical, dangerous idea by monogramming a Z onto Zarya's clothes? Fact is, they care almost nothing about the characters and story in Overwatch any more. The game is just a cash cow, and skins are at the heart of that.

As for people talking about the far right in Ukraine. Just, do better. Don't blindly consume such information sources, and maybe find out how Russia has an even bigger far right problem.

 

[Azurro]

"Just a fringe minority" then.

...

Yes, it is a fringe minority. By the same measurement, Swedes, French and Germans are Nazis, as we can find political parties on the extreme right with seats in parliament.

But hey, you know where it is common to find Neo Nazis? Amongst Russians. It sounds like Russia should send a liberation army against itself.