Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praise on billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday during a visit to an exhibition at the Russia–Africa summit in Moscow.
"Elon Musk is a genius, simply a true genius," Putin said, referring to the satellite constellation operated by Musk's SpaceX company.
The remarks came after Russia's digital development minister presented the country's progress in building a satellite internet network to compete with Starlink. The minister noted that Russia has launched more than 30 satellites so far, while Musk has thousands of active satellites in orbit around the Earth.
"We are only taking our first steps, but we are proud that we have begun to do this independently," Putin said.
The Russian president also disclosed that his country maintains contact with Musk and with other American figures in the space sector. "We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk, because it is very important not to interfere with each other in orbit and to maintain order and discipline," he said.
The unusual compliments come against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, whose military relies heavily on Musk's satellite communications services for operational activity.
