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Russo-Ukraine War - Fighting Words

Yanks and Rebels skirmish in the American Civil War [aka the War of Northern agression]. A few years later, yankees fought krauts and jerries. Soldiers are untrained for the emotional trauma of killing the enemy in combat. The Army does Soldiers a disservice by not preparing them emotionally for the trauma of combat. In On Killing, LTC (Ret) Dave Grossman (1995) writes, “If society prepares a Soldier to overcome his resistance to killing and places him in an environment in which he will kill, then that society has an obligation to deal forthrightly, intelligently, and morally with the psychological event.”

One of the historically tried and true ways armies have attempted to overcome their soldiers’ fear of killing others in combat was to dehumanize the enemy and get soldiers to hate them. Killing out of hate is a powerful motivator but can yield unintended consequences.

The low regard in which some American troops held the Vietnamese was clear, routinely referring to them as “gooks,” “dinks,” or “slopes,”. One only has to talk with U.S. Soldiers and Marines today or read magazine and newspaper interviews to hear derogatory terms used to describe Iraqi citizens. This problem is greater during an insurgency when the population’s loyalty is in question or there is a significant cultural gap, troops may find it increasingly difficult to distinguish the insurgents from the population, in the minds of the Soldiers, the population may soon become the hated enemy and thus victims of unlawful conduct.

The use of obscenities against Russian servicemen – as well as their demonisation – has an immediate psychological effect. Most importantly, the new language of war helps change the way Ukrainians see themselves – and are perceived worldwide. Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s comedian-turned-president, rules the roost when it comes to being sincere, totally unofficial – and a bit vulgar. Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to Zelenskyy, said“Maybe, someone had a cigarette in the wrong place?” winked on 01 April 2023, when an explosion roiled Belgorod, a western Russian city that borders Ukraine and hosts military bases and depots. It destroyed a giant fuel storage – and was widely ascribed to a Ukrainian missile attack.

The war in Ukraine spawned a new lexicon. Words and phrases that entered Ukrainian society include some used in the beginning of the war in 2014, as well as those from the Soviet era. Some military slang has become popularised again, and other expressions are completely new. While some of these terms can seem amusing and constitute a fascinating new field of study for linguists, these pervasive new slurs are no laughing matter. Some of the words and phrases that have entered wider usage in Ukrainian society date back to the beginning of the war in 2014, others to military usage in the Soviet era, military slang that has become popularised again, and others are entirely new coinages. Some language serves to create a distance from the horrible reality or reinforce social solidarity, but in other cases it provides a useful tool to talk about the reality of the experience.

• "200" - dead and wounded troopw, derived from the fact that when bodies were transported from Afghanistan in that era, the weight of the coffin was 200 kilos. "Gruz 200" is a visual image of evacuation vehicles. It is used in literature, poetry, cinematography and in conversation. The military is sometimes very superstitious about these matters and often unwilling to change the established things.
• "300s" (wounded)
• "400s" (prisoners)
• "500s" (refuseniks/deserters)
• “Anglo-Saxons” - term used by Russian media personalities to speak of the principal opponents, or enemies, of their country. In Russia the term is meant to include the USA and UK.
• “at zero” - the frontline
• “avatar”, a drunken soldier, derived from a Ukrainian expression to get drunk or “blue” – a reference to the James Cameron blockbuster about blue aliens.
• "Bandera", Banderovtsy", "banderlogi". literally followers of World War II-era Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera, a Russian synonyms for "neo-Nazis". The "logi" suffix lends an additional pejorative connotation. A hero to Ukrainian nationalists, Bandera initially collaborated with Nazi Germany in a bid to create an independent Ukrainian state. The Nazis subsequently arrested him and his associates. He was assassinated in 1959, a killing widely attributed to the Soviet KGB secret services.
• "Blyat’": Bitch, Fuck, Shit!  Not the strongest but definitely the most common profanity heard in Ukraine battlefield videos.
• "Bomboshovište" the Ukrainian word for bomb shelter – a new necessity that’s forced libraries and other facilities into new roles of protecting civilians.
• "bronia" was used during the war in Afghanistan for all armored vehicles
• “chandelier” describes a white phosphorous or magnesium airburst named for the falling points of brilliant white light
• "Chornobaites", inspired by the Ukrainian village of Chornobaivka in the Kherson region, which Russian forces repeatedly tried and failed to take during the course of the war - Russian forces refer to the village as “purgatory” for them and a “cemetery” for their equipment. The term is used to describe people who repeat the same mistake but expect a different result.
• "cigarette, Dropping a" - "Ivan the Smoker" as a mythical figure that uses to "smoke carelessly" in places he shouldn't
• "collective West" - "The US-led collective West declared war on Russia long ago, most notably, after the 2014 coup in Ukraine", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Great Game TV program on Russian Federal Channel One on 28 December 2022. This reflects the trend toward "simplification" of the Western actor by the emerging concept of "collective West" in the official Russian discourse.
• “cope” — a delusion to which one appeals to “cope” with the cognitive dissonance induced by abundant contradictory indications.
• "copium" - a metaphorical substance used on Twitch and other online platforms that is "consumed" after an unfavorable outcome takes place to help them "cope" with that outcome.
• “cotton” [bavovna] is one of the two translations of the russian word "clap" into Ukrainian. Plural form, "claps" ( hlopki), is the term used by russian propaganda to downplay the importance of explosions. Russians don’t talk about an explosion. They’ll often say klapok, which is a loud noise or clap. Running those letters through Google Translate will also come up with the word for ‘cotton’. The word "cottons" (bavovna) has been actually used by russian internet trolls, which pretended to be Ukrainians, but used Google translate without understanding the meaning as explosions targeting Russian forces.
• "coup regime" - Russian term for the 2014 popular uprising that saw former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich forced from office, claimed to be a “coup” orchestrated by the United States and supported by Washington’s European allies. Putin described the toppling of Yanukovich as an “anti-constitutional armed coup”.
• "Cyborg" literally half-man and half-machine, in 2014 the word was commonly used for the brave Ukrainian defenders of Donetsk airport.
• Dyvanna Sotnia [“Couch Hundred”] a mocking term for people whose political activity is limited by active use of social networks, where they tend to aggressively express their opinions, giving advice on how the crisis in the east can be solved. It originates from the name of traditional Ukrainian military unit “a hundred.”
• “Gauleiter”, a German term for an occupied region’s satrap, which Ukrainians call a Russia-appointed mayor of an occupied town.
• "Gayrope" [“gay” and “Europe”}. used by adherents of pro-Russian ideology to show the decay of moral and family values in the West. Mykola Azarov, prime minister during Yanukovych’s presidency, warned that European integration would mean legalization of same-sex marriages.
• "Golden loaf", a term that appeared in late February of 2014 when the EuroMaidan protesters broke into the mansion of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych and found, among other treasures, a paperweight of about two kilograms of pure gold in form of loaf of bread. This finding became a symbol of Yanukovych’s pathological thirst for luxury. Now little models of the loaf can be found in Ukrainian souvenir shops, luxury matched with bad taste.
• "Kalashmat" the military personnel call Kalashnikov assault rifles in their usual communication.
• "Katsap", or billy goat, Ukrainianr slur for Russians, referring to old Russian men with beards. "Katsap" which means the typical bearded and unkempt Russian low-life and the term "Katsap swamps" for Russia.
• khokhol (Russian term), is commonly used as an ethnic slur for Ukrainians. This Russian name for oseledets, the traditional Ukrainian style of haircut that features a long lock of hair left on the otherwise completely shaved head. In addition to calling Ukrainians khokhols, Russians also refer to Ukraine as Khokhliandiia and Khokhlostan.  From an old Cossack surname (remember Nikolai Gogol?) that the Russians use as a nasty ethnic slur against Ukrainians: such as “Go home to Chernobyl, Khokhol!”
• "Khuy":  Cock.  Khuy is arguably the bedrock of Russian profanity, most commonly used in the expression “Idi na khuy!” meaning “go fuck yourself!” That was what the defenders of Snake Island told the Russian warship demanding their surrender on the first day of the conflict.
• "Khuylo": Dickhead. Often used with suka as an intensifier to form suka khuylo! What a fucking dickhead!
• "Koloradi", inspired by the Colorado potato beetle, an invasive pest whose orange and black stripes resemble St. George colors. Slang for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, who at times wear orange-and-black-striped paraphernalia in a nod to the Order of St. George, one of Russia’s highest military honors.
• "korobochky [boxes], meaning tanks
• "kranje" – which roughly translates to ‘on the edge’, the frontline, denotes a premonition of death.
• Krymnash [“Crimea is ours”], a Russian term that reflects the excitement of the pro-Kremlin Russian residents about annexation of Crimea, often used in an ironic sense to highlight the vanity of this attainment for common Russians.
• "Kurva" : Whore, Shit:  Milder Ukrainian swear word, thought to have come from the Polish.
• "Laino", "Givno", "Dermo": Shit. The Ukrainians have a lot of words for it.
• "little green men" Russian soldiers who didn’t wear insignia when invading the Crimean peninsula.
• “Macronite” - someone who makes a big show of being very concerned about something but refuses to do anything tangible to help, a special skill, a talent in constructing a phrase so that it begins with an insult, continues with a threat, and ends with a request.
• "meat assault" / "meat attack" [myasnoye napadenie] - Human wave infantry attack into a "meat grinder", being mowed down. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is throwing foreign mercenaries into "meat assaults." Igor Konashenkov, official representative of the RF Ministry of Defense, spoke about this 10 July 2023. “The Ukrainian command throws units manned by foreign mercenaries into “meat assaults” on Russian positions in the first place. The evacuation of wounded mercenaries is organized according to the residual principle, only after the removal of Ukrainian servicemen,” said a representative of the Russian defense ministry. Russian infantry assaults on Bakhmut were coming in waves: The first involves former prison inmates, followed by newly mobilized soldiers. That's followed by a third wave of regular Vagner soldiers.
• "mishky" [bags], uring the Chechen campaign in the Russian army, tanks were called in radio communication
• Maidanuty, a term targeting pro-Ukraine sympathizers who took part in the recent Maidan protests. The ending "uty" evokes a very crude slur whose toned-down translation would be "raving mad."
• “Mobik” a Ukrainian word for a Russian conscripted invader. It brings to mind “mobilized” + “vatnik”. Mobilized Russian occupiers are thrown to the front in Ukraine without training. Some of them prefer to surrender to Ukrainian defenders. They are ready to escape on their own or in organized groups.
• 'Mohylizatsia' is a wordplay on Mohyla (meaning tomb) and Mobilizatsia (mobilization), meaning a mobilized conscript is likely headed towards his own tomb when arriving to fight in Ukraine. The beetle has yellow stripes, orange on the Russian ribbon.
• Moskal - derisive term used by Ukrainian nationalists to refer to Russians. The term "Moskal" is a historical designation for residents of the Grand Duchy of Moscow from the 12th to the 15th centuries. It is sometimes used in Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland. The term is also used as a political putdown, similar to the names "Byzantines" or "Greeks". Moskalik is a Polish and Ukrainian designation for small fish typically used as bait or as a casual snack.
• "musicians" - Wagner PMC
• "national traitors" - Russian official term for Russian elites (mostly those who have gone abroad or keep money there) and critics of the Russian government.
• Native - Wordplay on the Ukrainian term for a NATO member, a “Native” is someone who fails to keep their promises, according to a meme doing the rounds on social media.
• “Nazi”, the Kremlin term for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, even though he grew up in a Russian-speaking Jewish family – and his grandfather lost family during the Holocaust.
• "Nul" is the dividing line between opposing sides, from military topography and cartography
• "On the shield" Instead of "Gruz 200 / Cargo 200", the Soviet slang used for casualties in war, Ukrainians are urged to say "Na shchyti" ("On the shield"), from the phrase from classical antiguity, in which wives exhorted their husbands not to throw down their shields and flee the battlefield as cowards, but rather to stand as heroes, and "return with your shield, or on it".
• "Orc" is a reference to J R R Tolkien’s race of evil Lord Sauron supporters with bad breath and disfigured faces that appeared in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Russian troops are orcs because Ukrainians don’t consider them human. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “Justice will be served after the temporary words “‘occupation,’ ‘Mordor,’ ‘orcs’ … leave our lexicon. We will definitely drive them out of our land.”
• "Pizda": Cunt. A core  Slavic insult.
• "Pizdets": Shit. A derivative of “Pizda,” slightly less offensive. Can also be used to mean something like “clusterfuck,” or an irreparably fucked-up situation, like Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
• "Pokemon" PKM machine gun
• "polite people", a Russian propaganda prepared its own term for the little green men invading the Crimean peninsula.
• "Putler" Putin + Hitler - Ukrainians use a range of “blended names” for the Russian leader
• "Putschists" [German for "coup"] - Russian term for the organiers of the 2014 popular uprising that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. The term is used to recall Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch ,
• “Polizei”, German for police, what Ukrainians call a Russian collaborator.
• "Poshol na khuy": Fuck you! Another very popular, and rude, insult; usually accompanied by a special hand gesture (your right hand palm across the middle of the left arm).
• "Pravoseki" a member of Pravy Sektor, or Right Sector, an ultranationalist Ukrainian group that took part in the Maidan protests. The "sek" ending is borrowed from a Russian slur against homosexuals.
• "PTN PNH" : Putin, go fuck yourself! Another anti-Putin message, seen scrawled in graffiti.
• "Putin khuylo!" : Putin is a dickhead! Began as a football chant, but quickly became the rallying cry of Ukrainian resistance after the Russian invasion of the Donbas in 2014.
• "Putinoid" fans of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• “Rashist”, an epithet frequently used to describe Russian troops. a neologism that combines “Russian,” “racist” and “fascist” – and is immediately understandable to those who grew up in the former Soviet Union. Even though the term “fascist” refers to Benito Mussolini’s regime in Italy, in the USSR, it mostly denoted German Nazis whose army and allies occupied most of Ukraine during World War II.
• ‘Scholzing’ — ‘communicating good intentions, only to use/find/invent any reason imaginable to delay these and/or prevent them from happening’. - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
• "Separ", a shortened version of the word “separatist”. commonly used to define the residents of Donbas, who want separation from Ukraine.
• "Shoiguing", named after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, describes the act of pretending everything at work is going according to plan.
• Slava Ukraini! [“Glory to Ukraine!”], normally followed by the reply, “Heroiam slava!” — glory to the heroes. The phrase dates at least as far back as Ukraine’s war for independence (1917-1921); it also had a resurgence when Ukraine left the Soviet Union in 1991.
• "Special Military Operation" Putin’s term for his country’s attack on Ukraine
• "Storm-Z" assault units were formed from former prisoners, a replica of Wagner. In practice, the units, equipped with the so-called "special contingent", showed extremely low combat effectiveness.
• "Suka": Bitch. A common insult across various Slavic languages, including Russian and Ukrainian. There’s also a diminutive, “suchka,” used as a term of endearment.
• SVO - Spetsialis Voennaya Operaciya [Special Military Operation] not Severny Voienny Okrug [Northern Military District]
• Tankie is a British term and it refers specifically to British pro-Russian leftists, mostly from Labour.
• TOT - temporarily occupied territories
• “to the basement” the risk of what will happen to Ukrainians if captured by Russian forces, who operate basement torture chambers and execution cells.
• "Tractor troops", a nickname for the Ukrainian farmers who famously used their tractors to tow Russian tanks and other vehicles from the battlefield. Now immortalized on a postage stamp.
• "Ukry, ukropy" = the country's name comes from "okraina," "outskirts," or "borderland." Detractors co-opted the term "Ukry" to deride Ukrainians loyal to the Kyiv government. The derivative "ukrop" means "dill", which soon became popular with the Ukrainians.
• "Valenki" traditional Russian felt boots, once popular footwear prized for their warmth. They lost much of their appeal in recent decades, instead becoming associated with the rural lifestyle. The term is used to describe foolish or naive people. In the context of the conflict in Ukraine, "valenki" can be roughly translated as "ignorant Russian fools."
• Vatnik, a quilted jacket, usually gray in color and stuffed with thick cotton. Once worn by gulag prisoners, it is seen as a cheap, highly unglamorous item of clothing. More recently, the word has become synonymous with boorish Russian patriotism. "Vatniki" are characterized by a blind loyalty to their government, a loathing for all things American, excessive alcohol consumption, and the unshakable belief that the Russian nation is the world's greatest.
• Veseushniki (soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This word derives from the abbreviation "VSY" which means "Vooruzennye Sily Ukrainy" (Armed Forces of Ukraine), hence VeSeUshnik.
• Vyshyvatnik (a mixture of vatnik and vyshyvanka – Ukraine’s traditional embroidered shirt) is an overly patriotic Ukrainian, an antipode to vatnik, a person who implicitly trusts Ukrainian propaganda and blindly hates everything related to Russia.
• Wesseushniks [see Veseushniki ]
• "Yebat’" : To Fuck.  Most commonly used in the expression Yob tvoyu mat’: Fuck Your Mother! Or Vashu Mat’: Your mother, which is just the second half of its longer equivalent, and slightly less offensive.
• "Z" - a letter which isn’t part of the Cyrillic alphabet, initially painted on Russian tanks and other military vehicles, now seen as a Russian pro-war symbol. now seen as a Russian pro-war symbol.
• "Zelionka" is an expression that refers to green areas.
• "ZhydoBanderivets" literally means “Jewish-Banderit” and signifies a Ukrainian nationalist of Jewish nationality.

Ukrainian leaders, officials and military officers communicate with mass media and the public in new and effective ways in an information war. In doing so, they are breaking with Ukraine’s Soviet past, when Communist leaders bored their audiences with monotonous, hours-long speeches. Treatises have been written on the glories of Slavic swearing and the difference between Russian (genitalia-focused) and Ukrainian (more copro-centric) swear words.