Putin Praises Musk While Russia Builds Rival Satellite Network

Vladimir Putin stood before African leaders in Moscow this week and called Elon Musk a genius, a compliment delivered even as Russia struggles to match the satellite network SpaceX already has in orbit. For Ukrainians watching from the front lines, the stakes are immediate: their military depends on satellite links that were cut off for about 10 days earlier this month before operations resumed. Russian forces are building an alternative for their own use.

Speaking at the summit, Putin said Russia was in contact with Musk about keeping order in orbit. "Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius. How many of these [satellites] does he have in orbit? More than 5,000, and we're only taking the first steps," he said, according to Tass. SpaceX's active satellite count is estimated at about 10,000. Putin added that Moscow is "in close contact with our American partners, including Mr Musk," because it matters "not to get in each other's way and to maintain a certain level of discipline and order." He also compared the pace of the Russian Rassvet constellation program with Starlink's scale.

Putin's remarks follow a mid-October restriction on Starshield, the military version of Starlink, that took effect one night and stopped Ukraine from carrying out medium-range drone attacks. Some anti-drone air defences were also affected. Musk, who backs President Donald Trump, first denied ordering any throttling. Late last week he said he had closed a loophole that had let Ukraine's military use the civilian Starlink service.

Starlink does not operate inside Russia, and Russian access to it within Ukraine was cut earlier this year. Moscow began developing Rassvet as a replacement, but the system runs on about 26 working satellites, which limits its capacity. After the roughly 10-day interruption, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starlink and Starshield had been restored and said speeds were "now where they need to be".

Zelenskyy's relationship with Trump remains strained ahead of the US midterm elections on Tuesday. Trump has also spoken with Putin, agreeing in early October to purchase diesel from Moscow to help reduce oil prices before voters go to the polls. Zelenskyy said he expects talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the US to run from 6 to 10 November in Abu Dhabi. "We are waiting for the American side," he said at a press conference in The Hague alongside Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

European governments have increased their pledges. Britain will provide £10bn in additional financing for Ukraine across the next three years, with £500m released immediately for air defence systems. UK chancellor John Healey announced the money in the annual budget. Zelenskyy told Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham: "You've made my day." He called it "a truly strong and very timely step" as winter approaches.

The Dutch government committed €500m in military support for the winter and €1.2bn more in non-military aid, some of it to repair utilities and manufacturing sites. Moscow, meanwhile, has struck Kyiv repeatedly this autumn while its eastern front stalls. Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 100 ballistic missiles at the capital and surrounding region since mid-October, striking power plants and other key targets.

Putin's satellite program is at an early stage. Russia has about 26 working satellites in its constellation, while SpaceX has an estimated 10,000.