Putin calls Elon Musk a genius after satellite talks

Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk "a genius, a true genius" while addressing a summit of African leaders in Moscow, the Tass news agency reported. Putin observed that Musk has more than 5,000 satellites in orbit while Russia is "only taking the first steps" toward a constellation of its own. The actual number of active SpaceX satellites is estimated at about 10,000.

The praise came with a disclosure. Putin said Russia is in close contact with its 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." The man conducting those coordination talks is the controlling shareholder of the network that carries Ukraine's battlefield connectivity, and this month he demonstrated what that control amounts to in practice. Starshield, the military version of Starlink, was restricted overnight in mid-October, preventing Ukrainian medium drone attacks and hampering parts of the country's anti-drone air defences. Musk initially denied ordering any throttling, then said at the end of last week that he had closed a loophole through which the military had been using the civilian service. After roughly ten days, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starlink and Starshield operations had been restored, with speeds "now where they need to be."

Russia is meanwhile building its own military satellite system, Rassvet, intended for use against Ukraine. Its existing alternative constellation runs on an estimated 26 working satellites, with limited capacity. Starlink does not function on Russian territory, and Russian forces' use of the service inside Ukraine was restricted earlier this year.

The satellite traffic runs alongside a diplomatic calendar set by Washington's election. Musk is an ally of Donald Trump, who agreed in early October to buy diesel from Moscow in an effort to lower fuel prices before next Tuesday's midterms. Zelenskyy, speaking in The Hague beside the Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten, said he hopes trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States can begin in Abu Dhabi between 6 and 10 November. "We are waiting for the American side," he said. "I think that they'll be ready with all the answers after the elections." He also confirmed a call with the British prime minister, Andy Burnham, whose government is providing £10bn in extra financing over three years plus an immediate £500m for air defence systems — a step Zelenskyy called "truly strong and very timely" as Russia needs to see that Ukraine will not be left alone.

Russia's rival constellation has an estimated 26 working satellites. The one Ukraine's drones depend on has roughly 10,000, and a single controlling shareholder whom the Kremlin this week called a genius.