Putin Calls Musk a Genius as Russia Tries to Catch Up to Starlink

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk 'a real genius' on Wednesday, admitting that Russia is only beginning to build its own version of Musk's Starlink satellite internet system. Putin made the comment during a meeting in Moscow, where he was listening to a report from Russia's Digital Development Minister. The admission was surprising because Starlink has been used by Ukraine — the country Russia is at war with — to help control drones and communicate on the battlefield.

Russia's Digital Development Minister, Maksut Shadayev, told Putin that Russia has launched more than 30 satellites as it works to build a system like Starlink. Putin pointed out that this is only a first step. He said Musk's Starlink network has more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites — though an independent tracking website called Orbital Radar says the real number is closer to 10,000.

Putin said Russia is proud to have started building its own satellite network without help from other countries. He added that Russia's next goal is to move from building a few high-quality satellites to launching many more of them. 'We are proud that we have begun to do this, and started to do it independently,' Putin said.

Putin also said Russia stays in contact with Musk and other American partners to make sure their satellites do not interfere with each other in orbit. He said it is important for countries that have satellites in space to follow rules and avoid getting in each other's way. This kind of cooperation is needed even between countries that are not on friendly terms.

Starlink works by using hundreds of satellites that orbit much closer to Earth than older communications satellites. Because they are closer, signals travel faster, which makes the internet connection quicker and more reliable. Ukraine's military has relied heavily on Starlink and a military version of the service called Starshield.

Earlier this month, Ukraine said Starlink's speeds had been reduced, which hurt its ability to track and stop Russian drone attacks. Some military operations even had to be canceled because of the slowdown. Ukraine later said the service was fully working again, but Musk claimed Ukraine's military had broken SpaceX's rules for using the system.

The Starlink issues added to growing tensions between Ukraine and the United States. President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel fuel and asked Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil facilities. He also suggested it was time for Ukraine to choose a new president, which upset many Ukrainian leaders.

This is not the first time Russian officials have spoken well of Musk. Earlier in 2025, a Russian official named Kirill Dmitriev said Russia would like to work with Musk on a mission to Mars. Putin's praise of Musk shows that even during a time of conflict, world leaders pay close attention to what private companies like SpaceX are doing in space.