Putin Calls Musk a “Genius” While Russia Builds Starlink Rival
The Russian leader praised the SpaceX founder at a summit in Moscow. His own country has launched only a small share of what Starlink has in orbit.
MOSCOW, Oct 28 – Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk a genius on Wednesday and admitted that Russia is only beginning to roll out its own Starlink rival.
The praise stood out. Musk’s company SpaceX built Starlink, and a version of it has been used by Ukraine’s military throughout the war with Russia. It’s a key part of Kyiv’s drone operations and battlefield communications.
Putin remarked during a presentation by Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev. The event took place on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. A group of African leaders joined Putin as he listened.
Shadayev said Russia had so far launched more than 30 satellites for the Starlink rival. Media reports have named the project Rassvet, a constellation backed by the state.
Putin stopped him to stress that this was only a beginning. “Elon Musk is a genius, he’s just a real genius,” Putin said.
He then asked how many satellites Musk had in orbit. Shadayev replied that SpaceX had more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites working. But the independent tracking site Orbital Radar puts the real number close to 10,000.
Putin said Russia was only taking its first steps. Still, he said the country was proud to have started, and to be doing the work on its own. The next task, he said, was to move from quality to quantity.
He also said Moscow maintains close contact with its American partners, including Musk, adding that this matters because satellites must avoid interfering with one another and a degree of discipline and order must be maintained in orbit.
Starlink operates through a vast constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. In contrast to traditional geostationary communications satellites that move around at much greater heights, the Starlink satellites orbit around the Earth at relatively lower altitudes. That proximity allows signals to travel more quickly, reducing delays and making the network especially useful for real-time communications, including military operations and internet access in remote areas.
Ukraine relies heavily on Starlink and on Starshield, its military version. But earlier this month Ukrainian officials complained of new restrictions. The limits reportedly capped how fast devices using the service could move, at about 100 miles per hour. Commanders reported lost drones and disrupted missions. Ukraine said the curbs hurt its ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced it to cancel some operations.
On Saturday, Ukraine said Starlink and Starshield were working at full speed again. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said operations had returned to their previous speeds.
Musk then said on X that SpaceX had restricted Starlink. He accused Ukraine’s military of breaking the service’s terms by using it for offensive drone strikes. He also said Starshield is a separate system, controlled by the United States government.
The administration of President Donald Trump has denied interfering with Ukraine’s access to Starshield, leaving it unclear who placed the limits on the military system. Ukrainian officials have rejected Musk’s account, with Serhii Sternenko, an adviser to former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, calling his claims false.
The dispute comes at a particularly tense moment for Kyiv and Washington. Trump announced a deal to purchase Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries, and he has also suggested that it is time for Ukrainians to replace their president.
Russian officials have repeatedly praised Musk. In April 2025, President Vladimir Putin compared him to Sergei Korolev, the engineer who led the Soviet space program, telling students in Moscow that people of Musk’s caliber rarely emerge. In 2023, Putin called Musk an “outstanding person,” days after Musk said he had refused a Ukrainian request to activate Starlink near the Crimean port of Sevastopol during a planned attack on Russia’s naval fleet.
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, said in 2025 that Russia would like to work with Musk on a mission to Mars, proposing that Moscow supply nuclear power technology for such missions. The remarks underscored the Kremlin’s continued interest in cultivating ties with Musk, even as his companies remain central to Ukraine’s battlefield communications and military operations.
