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Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised United States technology billionaire Elon Musk for deploying thousands of satellites into orbit, describing him as a genius as Moscow works to build its own satellite internet system.
Putin made the remarks on Wednesday while visiting an exhibition on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.
Musk owns SpaceX, the company responsible for launching rockets for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and operating Starlink, a satellite-based internet service.Â
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Russia, which has a long history of space exploration, is seeking to establish its own satellite network for civilian and military applications.
Putin noted that Musk had placed more than 5,000 satellites in orbit, contrasting the achievement with Russia’s early efforts to develop a similar system.
He also said Moscow maintained contact with American partners, including Musk, stressing the importance of avoiding interference between satellite networks in space.
“Elon Musk is a genius, truly a genius,” Putin said.Â
“He has how many units in orbit…? More than 5,000. And we’re taking our first steps,” he added.
“We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk, because it is crucial in orbit not to interfere with one another.”
Putin’s comments come as Ukraine and the United States face tensions over access to Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade satellite communications network.
Ukraine began reporting disruptions to its use of Starshield this month following a dispute involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over a US-Russia diesel deal.
Trump and Musk both denied responsibility for the outages. Musk later accused Ukraine of using SpaceX’s Starlink service for military purposes beyond its intended scope.
Ukraine has said the disruptions have hampered its ability to intercept Russian drones and disrupted logistical operations along the front line, as the war between the two countries continues into its fifth year.
