Putin Praises Musk's 'Genius' as Russia Builds Its Own Satellite Network

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk "a genius, a true genius" on Wednesday while detailing Moscow's plans to build its own military satellite communications network for use against Ukraine. Speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, Putin said Russia was developing its own Rassvet constellation as an alternative to Starlink, the orbital internet network operated by SpaceX. The Russian president also said he was in contact with Musk regarding satellite operations in orbit. "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," Putin said, according to Tass.

Putin said Russia had more than 5,000 satellites in orbit while Moscow was "only taking the first steps." The true number of active SpaceX satellites is estimated at about 10,000, providing the high-speed internet service. Starlink does not work inside Russia, and its use by Russia inside Ukraine was restricted earlier this year. Russia has begun developing an alternative system, but with an estimated 26 working satellites, its capacity remains limited.

The development follows a restriction on Starlink's military version, called Starshield, that was suddenly tightened one night in mid-October, preventing Ukraine from conducting medium-range drone attacks and hampering some of its anti-drone air defenses. Elon Musk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, initially denied ordering a throttling of the internet connection before saying late last week that he had closed a loophole in which the civilian Starlink had been used by the military. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday that "Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored" and that the speeds were "now where they need to be."

Zelenskyy said he hoped proposed trilateral peace talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. would take place between November 6 and November 10 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, shortly after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. "We are waiting for the American side. I think that they'll be ready with all the answers after the elections," Zelenskyy told reporters in The Hague alongside Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. Zelenskyy also spoke with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham as Britain announced £10bn in extra financing for Ukraine over the next three years, including an immediate £500m for air defense systems. John Healey, the UK chancellor, announced the funding as part of the government's annual budget.

The Dutch government said it would provide €500m in military support for the winter and a further €1.2bn in non-military aid to help fund urgent repairs to Ukraine's utilities and manufacturing. Zelenskyy said overnight that Russia had launched more than 100 ballistic missiles against Kyiv and the surrounding region since mid-October, hitting power plants and other key targets.