In a rare public compliment to a US tech titan whose satellites have become a battlefield lifeline for Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin described Elon Musk as “a genius” — even as he conceded Russia is only at the starting line in building a homegrown rival to Starlink.
The acknowledgement carried extra weight because a version of Starlink, created by Mr Musk’s SpaceX, has been used by Ukraine’s military throughout the war with Russia, underpinning drone operations and frontline communications.
Mr Putin made the remarks while listening to a briefing from Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, who told him Russia had already launched more than 30 satellites as it develops 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,” Mr Putin said, speaking as he was accompanied by a group of African leaders visiting Moscow for a summit.
Putin says Russia in contact with US partners
In response to a question from Mr Putin, Mr Shadayev said Mr Musk had more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites in operation — though the actual figure is close to 10,000, according to the 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,” Mr Putin said. He added that the next challenge was “to move from quality to quantity”.
Mr Putin also said Russia was communicating with US counterparts — “including Mr Musk” — stressing the need for coordination in space.
“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 operates through a constellation of satellites flying far lower than traditional geostationary communications satellites, cutting signal travel time and improving responsiveness.
Ukraine has leaned heavily on the service and its military version, Starshield, but earlier this month complained about speed restrictions that it said undermined efforts to intercept Russian attack drones and led to some operations being called off.
Those issues compounded strains between Kyiv and the US after President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel, while urging Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries and arguing it was time for Ukrainians to replace their president.
Over the weekend, Ukraine said Starlink and Starshield were once again fully functional. Mr Musk, however, accused the Ukrainian military of breaching SpaceX’s terms. Neither Mr Musk nor the US government — which runs Starshield using Starlink technology — has accepted responsibility for the speed limits.
Russian officials have praised Mr Musk before. In 2025, Mr Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev said Russia would like to work with him on a mission to Mars.
German court weighs Bulgaria’s extradition request in Starlink fire case
German prosecutors said two German nationals were arrested last Friday and remain in custody while a court in the western city of Duesseldorf reviews a Bulgarian request for their extradition.
Bulgarian authorities allege the pair set fire to SpaceX SPCX.O Starlink antennas near Sofia and issued a European arrest warrant.
A spokesperson for the Duesseldorf prosecutors’ office said the two detainees were both 19 and lived in the nearby cities of Duisburg and Moers, respectively.
Prosecutors in Bulgaria allege the two entered the country from Serbia on 9 October, spent several hours in Bulgaria and later returned to Serbia. They are accused of setting fire to Starlink antennas south of Sofia.
Ukraine uses Starlink terminals extensively for battlefield communications and installs Starlink receivers in many of its drones as part of their guidance systems.
Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said he expected the suspects to be transferred to Bulgarian authorities.
He added that the two had carried out a similar act in another European Union member state, without providing further details.
