President Vladimir Putin has described Elon Musk as a "real genius" following reports that SpaceX's Starlink service was disrupted for Ukraine two weeks ago. The incident left Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks, with reports suggesting Musk ordered the slowdown of the military-grade version of Starlink used by the country.
Ukraine Reports Starlink Disruption
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said two weeks ago that US President Donald Trump and his ally Mr Musk deliberately blocked Ukraine's access to Starlink overnight after the military faced slowdowns in speed. The satellite internet service, operated by Musk's aerospace company SpaceX, provides high-speed broadband globally and is used by Ukraine in its military communications and drone operations in the war against Russia.
Speaking at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on Wednesday, Mr Putin said, "Elon Musk is a genius, a real genius." He added, "How many of these [low-orbit satellites] does he have in orbit? More than 5,000, and we're only taking the first steps."
Putin Highlights Space Cooperation
Mr Putin continued, "We are in close contact with our American partners, including Musk, because it is very important, in orbit, not to get in each other's way and to maintain a certain level of discipline and order." The world's wealthiest man has yet to respond to Mr Putin's comments.
Mr Musk and the White House have accused each other of the internet slowdown, which followed several statements by the Trump administration and the SpaceX owner that Ukrainian officials saw as hostile to the country. Kyiv immediately suspected the order came either from Mr Trump or Mr Musk.
Blame and Response
Mr Musk also blamed the US President, writing on X: "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and POTUS." However, the Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network.
Mr Musk has also accused the Ukrainian military of violating SpaceX's terms. He said in a post on X, which he also owns, "Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be. Ukraine['s] military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."
Over the weekend, Ukraine said Starlink and Starshield were again fully functional.
