Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he maintains "close contact" with Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, regarding Russia's version of "Starlink" – Rassvet.
Putin said at the Russia-Africa Summit on Wednesday, "Elon Musk is a genius, indeed a genius." He also stated, "He has already sent more than 5,000 such satellites into orbit, while we have just taken our first step."
The potential relationship that could form between Putin and Musk could have serious implications. Musk recently expressed dissatisfaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; since 2022, Ukraine has been in combat against Russian aggression. After the United States relaxed sanctions on Russia earlier this month, Ukrainian officials began to worry that Ukraine might lose access to Starshield. Starshield is the military version of Musk's Starlink network, on which the Ukrainian military relies.
These concerns are not entirely unfounded. Earlier this month, over a period of about 10 days, there were frequent disconnections for Ukrainian drones. According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk ordered SpaceX to restrict Ukraine's access to Starlink, although other reports claim that the order came from the White House. Musk posted on X stating that Ukraine had violated the Starlink terms of service for using this technology to “launch drone attacks to kill people.”
At present, the Starlink services within Ukraine seem to have returned to normal operation.
Musk also wrote on X: 'If Starlink is shut down, the Ukrainian front lines will immediately collapse. This is not a threat, just a statement of fact.'
