Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by offering some proof of life. What an opening thought. Let’s back up a moment.
Zelensky recently hypothesized that Putin might be dead because he “sometimes appears against a green screen” and is reluctant to appear in public. Granted, Putin might be hiding from the world due to his overriding fear of assassination, which kind-of makes sense for someone who’s frequently accused of having his enemies poisoned. And Putin has only made more enemies by waging war on Ukraine, but he apparently decided to swallow some fears and make a public appearance.
As Reuters reveals, Putin appeared at the University of Moscow this week. He was undoubtedly locked down beyond belief for security reasons, but he apparently succeeded in proving that he’s not six feet under. As the Daily Mail notes, Putin even decided to dress up in high heels (to make himself look taller, obv, not for any other reason). Here’s a photo, courtesy of Getty. See, he’s alive!
Reuters reports that, during this appearance, Putin avoided war talk, “instead dispensing career advice to students and fielding questions on other topics.” Here’s more:
Germany’s announcement that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after weeks of pressure from its allies prompted a furious reaction from Russia’s foreign ministry and its embassy in Berlin, but the president steered clear of the issue.
Putin, a fluent German speaker who served in the former East Germany as a KGB officer, spent more than an hour responding to students’ questions on issues ranging from lost dogs to quantum technology, though the war in Ukraine also kept cropping up indirectly.
So, yes, he’s apparently alive. The Daily Beast reports that, elsewhere, Putin also met with a gas executive, Nord Stream AG Managing Director Matthias Warnig, who asked of Ukraine, “What are your goals?” Warnig also questioned whether Putin simply wanted to crush Kyiv or wanted other cities and/or all of Ukraine. And Putin replied, “It’s a state secret.” Duly noted.
(Via Daily Mail, Reuters & Daily Beast)