Putin hails Musk's 'genius' as Russia builds its own Starlink rival for military use

At a summit with African leaders in Moscow, Vladimir Putin stopped to talk about satellites, and about the man who owns most of the ones that matter. "Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius," the Russian president said, according to the Tass news agency. He then put the gap between the two countries in numbers: Musk has more than 5,000 satellites in orbit, Putin said, and Russia is only taking its first steps.

Putin's figure undersells the scale. The number of active SpaceX satellites is estimated at about 10,000. They supply the high-speed internet service at the center of a diplomatic row this month involving Musk, the United States and Ukraine. Russia's answer is a constellation called Rassvet, which it is building gradually for military use against Ukraine. It has an estimated 26 working satellites, so its capacity is limited.

Putin also said Russia is in close contact with its American partners, Musk among them. In orbit, he said, it is very important not to get in each other's way and to keep a certain level of discipline and order. The remarks read as flattery, aimed at a man whose control of communications technology has raised questions about his leverage over the White House and his influence on Ukraine's war effort. Starlink does not work in Russia, and Russian use of it inside Ukraine was restricted earlier this year.

The row Putin was alluding to began one night in the middle of October. Starshield, the military version of Starlink, was suddenly restricted. Ukraine could no longer carry out medium drone attacks, and some of its anti-drone air defences were hampered. Musk, an ally of President Donald Trump, first denied ordering any throttling. At the end of last week he said he had closed a loophole that let the military use the civilian Starlink.

After about 10 days, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starlink and Starshield operations had been restored, with speeds now where they need to be. Few people believe the matter is permanently settled. Relations between Zelenskyy and Trump are fraught ahead of the US midterm elections next Tuesday. Trump has also reached out to Putin, agreeing early in October to buy diesel from Moscow in an effort to bring down the oil price before Americans vote.

Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that he hopes trilateral talks among Ukraine, Russia and the US will take place between 6 and 10 November in Abu Dhabi, shortly after the midterms. Speaking at a press conference in The Hague with Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten, he said Kyiv is waiting for the American side, which he expects will have all its answers after the elections.

European support is arriving as the war heads into what is expected to be its hardest winter yet. Britain will provide £10bn in extra financing for Ukraine over the next three years, plus an immediate £500m for air defence systems. Zelenskyy, who spoke with UK prime minister Andy Burnham, called it a truly strong and very timely step. UK chancellor John Healey announced the money in the annual budget and said Zelenskyy told him and the prime minister, "You've made my day." The Dutch government said it will provide €500m in military support for the winter and a further €1.2bn in non-military aid, partly to fund urgent repairs to Ukraine's utilities and manufacturing.

The need is concrete. Moscow has attacked Kyiv relentlessly this autumn while its forces fail to make progress on the eastern front. Zelenskyy said overnight that Russia has launched more than 100 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region since mid-October, hitting power plants and other key targets in an effort to cause a humanitarian crisis in the capital. The next markers are the US midterms and the proposed Abu Dhabi talks.