Moscow, (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Thursday in Kaliningrad , as tensions mount over the Russian enclave surrounded by NATO members at the height of the conflict in Ukraine.

Putin began his visit to Kaliningrad by meeting students who have resumed their academic year and answering their questions on various topics such as the economy, space and the Russian attack in Ukraine, according to scenes broadcast live on Russian television.

"Our task and the task of our soldiers (...) is to stop this war that Kiev is waging in Donbass (eastern Ukraine), to protect people and of course to defend Russia itself," he said.

The Russian President stressed that the residents of Donbass, a region in which many Russian speakers live, "consider that they are part of the (...) cultural and linguistic space" of Russia.

Putin's visit to Kaliningrad comes within the framework of intense tension over this Russian enclave located on the shores of the Baltic Sea and between Poland and Lithuania, two NATO members, at the height of the conflict in Ukraine.

Under the sanctions decided by the European Union in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine, Lithuania in June stopped allowing the passage of some goods through its territory in the direction of Kaliningrad.

After protests and threats from Moscow, the European Union ended up asking Vilnius to allow the transit of Russian goods by rail, except for military equipment.

In this context of tension, Moscow announced last month the deployment of the latest hypersonic missiles in Kaliningrad.