Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, a "genius," and revealed that the two maintain "close contact" regarding the development of a Russian version of Starlink as an alternative solution.
Putin said at the Russia-Africa Summit held in Moscow on Wednesday, "Elon Musk is a true genius, a true genius." Speaking about Russia's own satellite connectivity project Rassvet, he said, "He has already launched over 5,000 such satellites into orbit, while we have just taken our first step."
Rassvet is a satellite internet constellation located in low Earth orbit, built by the Russian private aerospace company Bureau.
According to the translation, Putin said: "We are proud that we have already begun to do so and have started to advance independently. We maintain close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk."
"On the track, it is very important not to interfere with each other and to abide by certain rules, discipline, and order. Both we and our American partners value this mutual understanding. Despite all the political issues, we are still working closely with Mr. Musk."
As the owner of Starlink, SpaceX did not immediately respond to the comment request from CNBC.
According to the company, Starlink operates over 11,000 satellites in orbit, providing high-speed internet access to 174 countries.
Earlier this month, Ukraine accused SpaceX and Elon Musk of imposing restrictions that slowed down the country's military satellite internet access, thereby undermining its defense capabilities. As a result, this service has come under scrutiny.
Ukrainian officials stated that these restrictions have affected the satellite communication services Starshield provided by SpaceX to the government, resulting in drones and other mobile devices losing connectivity or experiencing a decline in connection quality when traveling at speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
Ukrainian President Zelensky accused that limited services disrupted Ukraine's air defense capabilities during frequent Russian airstrikes.
Elon Musk has stated that Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government, ultimately by the president; however, other reports claim that the restrictions were imposed by Musk himself. U.S. President Donald Trump denied issuing such a restriction order.
The White House and SpaceX have not responded to CNBC's requests for comments on whether the service is restricted and the source of the command.
Later, Musk stated that Ukraine violated the service terms of Starlink by using a civilian commercial network for offensive drone strikes. Ukraine denies this claim.
