BERLIN, April 18. /TASS/. More than 140 cases have been opened in Germany over support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland news outlet reported on Monday.

According to the news outlet, most cases are related to the public display of the letter Z, which is considered to be one of symbols of support for Russia’s operation.

In late March, authorities in a number of German regions, including Bavaria, Berlin, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, banned the public display of the letter Z based on Paragraph 140 of the German Penal Code, which stipulates penalties in the form of fines and prison terms of up to three years for the approval of certain crimes.

In addition, more than 140 incidents involving damage to property, which are connected to developments in Ukraine, have been recorded in North Rhine-Westphalia since February 24.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. In response, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries announced sanctions on Russian individuals and entities.