Putin: Russia in ‘close contact’ with ‘genius’ Musk over satellite networks

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as a “genius” Wednesday while revealing that Russia has been in contact with the billionaire as the country works to develop a rival satellite internet network.

Putin made the remarks during a summit with African leaders in Moscow, where Maksut Shadayev, Russia’s digital development minister, briefed him on the country’s efforts to build a satellite communications system for its military to use against Ukraine that would rival Musk’s Starlink.

“Elon Musk is a genius, he’s just ​a real genius,” Putin said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Russia has launched more than 30 satellites as part of its developing Rassvet network, a fraction of the nearly 10,000 satellites operated by Musk’s SpaceX.

“While we are only taking our first steps. But we are proud that we have begun to do this, and started to do it independently,” Putin said.

The Russian leader also said Moscow has been communicating with Musk and other American partners about their respective satellite operations.

“We are in close contact with our American partners — including Mr. Musk — because it is very important, in orbit, not to get in each other’s way and to maintain a certain level of discipline and order,” Putin said.

Putin’s comments come after Ukraine said its access to Starlink and its military counterpart, Starshield, had been restored after nearly two weeks of disruptions that hampered its operations against Russian forces.

Ukraine has depended on the satellite systems for battlefield communications, drone strikes and air defenses throughout its more than four-year war with Russia. The slowdown forced Ukrainian forces to cancel some operations and made it more difficult to intercept incoming Russian drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the restoration over the weekend in a statement shared on social media Saturday afternoon local time.

“The speeds are now where they need to be,” he said in the statement. “The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient. This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered ‘shaheds.’”