Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly sought Elon Musk\u2019s\ninput on developing a satellite internet service that could rival\nSpaceX\u2019s Starlink.<\/p>\n
Putin publicly praised Musk as a genius as Russia began building the\nsatellite internet system. He also confirmed that Moscow was maintaining\ncontact with Musk and US partners as it developed the Starlink\ncompetitor.<\/p>\n
Putin made the remarks while listening to a briefing by Russia\u2019s\nMinister of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev. Shadayev said Russia\nhad launched more than 30 satellites to build a Low Earth Orbit (LEO)\ninternet system comparable to Starlink.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait a moment, I want to make clear that this is only our first\nstep. Elon Musk is a genius, he really is a genius,\u201d Putin said,\naccording to Reuters on Thursday (29 October 2026).<\/p>\n
Putin nevertheless acknowledged that Russia still lagged far behind\nStarlink, which is operated by Musk\u2019s space company, SpaceX.<\/p>\n
Shadayev said Musk currently had more than 5,000 satellites in low\norbit. Independent monitoring data from Orbital Radar, however, put the\nactual number at close to 10,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have more than 5,000 satellites, while we have only just taken\nour first steps. But we are proud to have started this project and to be\ndoing it independently,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
He said Russia\u2019s next main challenge was to scale up satellite\nproduction and launches. \u201cOur task now is to move from focusing on\nquality to focusing on quantity,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
Putin added that Russia was in close communication with US partners,\nincluding Musk, to ensure satellite constellations in space did not\ncollide or cause technical interference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr\nMusk, because it is very important that satellites in orbit do not\ninterfere with one another, and that a certain level of discipline and\norder is maintained,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Starlink\u2019s vital role in the Russia-Ukraine war<\/strong><\/p>\n Russia\u2019s satellite internet project is being developed as Starlink\nplays a crucial role in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine\u2019s military\nrelies heavily on the network, including Starshield, a Starlink variant\ndesigned for military use, to support battlefield communications and\ndrone operations.<\/p>\n Ukraine had complained of Starlink access being throttled in early\nOctober. The disruption hampered Kyiv\u2019s ability to intercept Russian\ndrone attacks and forced it to cancel several strategic military\noperations.<\/p>\n The technical issue further strained diplomatic relations between\nKyiv and Washington, particularly after US President Donald Trump\nannounced an agreement to buy oil and energy from Russia. Trump also\nurged Kyiv to stop attacking Russian oil refineries and said it was time\nfor Ukraine to change its national leadership.<\/p>\n Over the previous weekend, the Ukrainian government confirmed that\nStarlink and Starshield services were fully operational again. Musk,\nhowever, accused the Ukrainian military of breaching SpaceX\u2019s terms of\nservice. Musk and the US government\u2014which operates the Starshield\nnetwork using Starlink technology\u2014denied responsibility for the\nthrottling.<\/p>\n Moscow\u2019s interest in working with Musk is not new. In 2025, Kirill\nDmitriev, President Putin\u2019s special envoy for investment, publicly\nexpressed Russia\u2019s interest in collaborating with Musk on a mission to\nexplore Mars.<\/p>",
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