TROLLZ

Russian Gamer Fired After Drawing ‘Z’ Symbol While Playing Ukrainians

Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko later said he made the drawing by accident.

A computer gaming team has been expelled from an e-sports league after a 19-year-old Russian contestant, Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko, was caught drawing a “Z” symbol on the in-game mini-map of “Defense of the Ancients 2” while competing against Ukrainian opponents. After Moskalenko drew the letter, a pro-war symbol that was first seen daubed on Russian tanks headed into the invasion, his teammates quickly scribbled over the letter. Moskalenko subsequently said the drawing “happened by accident,” but the organizers of the tournament expelled the team, and the team then fired Moskalenko saying he had caused “a great deal of harm to our relationship with the worldwide e-sports society.”