Putin calls Elon Musk a genius, cites contacts on satellites

Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk “a genius, a real genius” and said Russia maintains contact with him on satellite issues. He made the remarks in Moscow while presenting the Russian satellite system Rassvet, which is meant to compete with America’s Starlink.

According to Putin, Russia is only at the beginning of the road: it is proud to be building the system on its own and now wants to expand its capacity. Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev said that Moscow has already put more than 30 satellites into orbit.

“We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk, because in orbit it is very important not to get in each other’s way and to maintain a certain level of discipline and order,” Putin said, as reported by Bloomberg. He did not explain what exactly lies behind these contacts, so it is unclear whether there is any specific agreement.

Ukraine depends on Starlink

Putin’s words are surprising because the Ukrainian army has used Starlink, from Musk’s SpaceX, throughout the war with Russia. The system plays a key role in drone control and battlefield communications.

In early October, Kyiv reported connection speed restrictions that, it said, made it harder to intercept Russian drones and led to the cancellation of some operations. Over the past weekend, Ukraine announced that Starlink and the military Starshield system were working at full strength again. According to Reuters, neither Musk nor the U.S. government, which operates Starshield on Starlink technology, has taken responsibility for the restrictions.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington have worsened in recent weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian oil, pressed Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, and said it was time for Ukrainians to change their president.

Russian officials have praised Musk before: in 2025, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, said Russia would gladly cooperate with him on a flight to Mars.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz