By Mark Trevelyan
Oct 28 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin hailed Elon Musk as a genius on Wednesday, acknowledging Russia is only beginning to roll out its answer to his Starlink satellite internet system.
The admission was all the more striking because a version of Starlink, developed by Musk's SpaceX, has been used by Ukraine's military throughout the war with Russia as a key component of drone operations and battlefield communications.
Putin made the remark while listening to a presentation by
Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, who said Russia had launched more than 30 satellites as it builds its own Starlink equivalent.
"Just a second, I want to point out this is just our first step. Elon Musk is a genius, he's just a real genius," said Putin, who was accompanied by a group of African leaders attending a summit in Moscow.
PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IN CONTACT WITH US PARTNERS
Shadayev said in reply to a question from Putin that Musk had more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites up and running — although the actual number is close to 10,000, according to independent tracking site Orbital Radar.
"Over 5,000 — 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, adding that the task now was "to move from quality to quantity".
"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," he said.
Starlink uses a constellation of satellites that orbit far lower than traditional geostationary communications satellites, reducing signal travel time.
Ukraine has relied heavily on the system and its military version Starshield, but complained earlier this month of speed restrictions that hampered its ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations.
The problems added to tensions between Kyiv and the US after President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries and saying it was time for Ukrainians to replace their president.
At the weekend, Ukraine said Starlink and Starshield were again fully functional, but Musk accused the Ukrainian military of violating SpaceX's terms. Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, have taken responsibility for imposing the speed curbs.
Russian officials have spoken highly of Musk before. In 2025, Putin's investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev said Russia would like to work with him on a mission to Mars.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Alison Williams)
