It has been used frequently by Ukrainians describing Russians in recent times. I have to admit, the description is fitting for an invader from the perspective of a Ukrainian.
orc - a member of an imaginary race of humanlike creatures, characterized as ugly, warlike, and malevolent.
Are orcs actually evil? I thought they were only evil when they congregated into a horde. Alone they kind of just hunt and do basic survival things. Maybe I am misremembering.
Orcs are generally depicted as being overwhelming in number, but individually kind of worthless. Wave after wave is sent into the meat grinder until the meat grinder breaks.
Kinda perfect for Russia’s approach to invading Ukraine.
I think it’s also worth noting that Tolkien’s orcs were individually cowardly and undisciplined, who could only be motivated into a horde by being more afraid of the consequences of refusal.
The only zerg I’m familiar with are StarCraft’s. Zerglings match what you’re describing, but the zerg as a whole vary a ton.
And zerglings are pretty much the orcs of the StarCraft universe, so kinda interchangeable if we’re comparing to large groups irl idiots like the J6 crowd, or invaders like Putin’s cannon fodder