A Russian "Z" mysteriously appears on an Australian Leopard Tank!

Leopard tank painted with pro-Russia graffiti in Western Australia.

Hannah Cross

Thu, 2 February 2023 7:48PM

A decommissioned Leopard tank at the Veterans Memorial Park in Port Kennedy has been painted with a Z

Police Minister Paul Papalia has slammed a shocking act of pro-Russian vandalism on one of WA’s only decommissioned army tanks at a war memorial in Perth’s south, labelling it “disrespectful and offensive”.
The decommissioned Leopard tank that stands proudly atop the hill at the Veterans Memorial Park in Port Kennedy was on Tuesday discovered to have been defaced with several “Zs” — a symbol for support of Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine — and “Slava Russia’” roughly translating to fame, glory or praise for Russia.

The Port Kennedy RSL is the caretaker for the tank. President Archie Lombardini said while the RSL usually fell prey to graffiti once or twice a year, it had never been targeted with this type of political messaging before.

Mr Lombardini condemned the blatant act of vandalism, saying it showed a “lack of respect” for members of the defence force.
“(The vandalism) shows a lack of respect for our service members, who are serving now but also to veterans that have served,” he said.

Mr Papalia, who is also Police Minister, said the vandalism was an “offensive act” and labelled the perpetrators “cowards”.
He said WA Police were investigating the matter and trying to identify those responsible.
“This is a disrespectful and offensive act,” Mr Papalia said.
“Australia condemns the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia and real Australians hold supporters of the invasion in contempt.

“I would urge anyone with any knowledge of the cowards responsible, to pass relevant information to police.”
The tank is one of 30 decommissioned Leopard tanks formerly used by the Australian Army that were gifted to RSLs around Australia in 2011, with four going to WA in Bunbury, Collie, Esperance and Port Kennedy.
A police spokesperson confirmed the incident was being investigated and that police were unaware of any reported similar incidents.