Some FSB torture seems to be simply about sadism. Their 'interrogators' are sick puppies. If federal agents in the US cut off someone's ear, they would themselves be imprisoned.
If he'd asked it in other contexts, I wouldn't have objected. But we were discussing the C3 upgrade and he interjected a non-sequitur about the C2 in Ukraine. His intention wasn't to ask a question; It was meant to demean and diminish the Challenger 2 and Western aid to Ukraine more generally.