Putin hails Elon Musk as a “true genius”

[Financial News] Russian President Vladimir Putin praised SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as a “true genius” and said he was in close communication with Musk’s side on satellite technology.
On the 28th (local time), foreign media including the BBC reported that Putin made the remarks while explaining Russia’s satellite internet project Rassvet in a speech at the Russia-Africa Summit, which opened in Moscow that day. According to the BBC’s translation, Putin said, “Musk is a genius, a real genius,” and added, “We maintain close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk.”
The remarks came as Putin stressed the need for cooperation to prevent Russia’s Rassvet satellites and SpaceX’s Starlink satellites from interfering with each other in orbit. “Despite all kinds of political issues, our American partners and we consider this cooperation mutually valuable and are working hard together,” he added.
The Russian Embassy in South Africa also described Rassvet as “Russia’s version of Starlink” in an official statement and confirmed that Russia is maintaining close communication with Musk and the U.S. side on space matters. Starlink currently operates about 13,000 satellites, while Rassvet is only just getting started, with reportedly only dozens of its satellites currently in orbit.
This cooperative tone reflects the recent atmosphere of closer ties between the United States and Russia, even as the war in Ukraine drags on. Ukraine’s military has relied heavily on Starlink satellite internet in its fight against Russia’s invasion, but recently experienced a sudden service disruption. Musk has acknowledged that it was a deliberate action by SpaceX.

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