Russian President Vladimir Putin avoided commenting on Germany’s decision to supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks during a visit to Moscow State University on Wednesday, instead offering professional advice to students and answering questions on other topics, Reuters reported.

Germany’s announcement that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after a week of pressure from its allies sparked angry reactions from Russia’s foreign ministry and its embassy in Berlin, but the president sidestepped the issue.

Putin, a fluent German speaker who served as a KGB officer in the former East Germany, spent more than an hour answering students’ questions about other issues, from stray dogs to quantum technology, even as the war in Ukraine continued to figure in the discussion. indirectly

War in Ukraine, a related topic on the day Germany announced it was sending Leopard heavy tanks

A student named Vladyslav from the Russian-controlled Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine told Putin that he had taken part in Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine last year and that his dream was to work for the FSB security service that Putin once headed.

Putin, 70, thanked him for his military service and said he remembered his FSB ambitions.

“People like you best understand the importance of taking action to protect people … and Russia itself,” the president said. “Thank God, you are alive and well, people like you will be needed both in the special services and in the FSB.”

Another student said he looked after his siblings, aged 9, 10 and 16, when his mother went to work as a frontline nurse last year. Putin said he bows to her.

A young woman named Daria told Putin that she wanted to work in the presidential administration, and Putin replied that she would “be sure to report to the personnel department.”

Putin suggested that some were using the war in Ukraine as an excuse to “abolish” Russian culture – a claim often repeated but unsubstantiated by Moscow – but said Russians would continue to enjoy Beethoven and Bach.

“We are part of world culture,” he said.

Russia faced a “difficult” security situation

In his comments, Putin made only an indirect allusion to the current international tensions, noting that Germany, “properly speaking,” remains under US military occupation – referring to allied troops stationed in the NATO country.

“A lot of what is happening (now) has deep roots… Sovereignty will be returned to Europe, but it looks like it will take time,” he added.

As such, there was no immediate reaction from President Vladimir Putin, but he only briefly mentioned the “difficult” security situation facing Russia.

Although Putin did not say anything, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram that Germany’s move was confirmation of Berlin’s participation in a “premeditated war” against Russia.

The Russian embassy in Berlin said the decision, which paves the way for other NATO members to also send German-made tanks, would escalate the 11-month-old conflict in Ukraine, which Moscow increasingly sees as a dangerous confrontation between Russia and the US-led coalition. alliance.

“This extremely dangerous decision brings the conflict to a new level of confrontation,” said Ambassador Serhiy Nechaev. He added that this would cause “irreparable damage to the already deplorable state of Russian-German relations.”

In addition, US President Joe Biden is also expected to announce on Wednesday evening that the US will send Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says he spoke on the phone with his American counterpart and has good news as Biden is expected to announce the delivery of Abrams tanks.