{
  "id": 16936293,
  "title": "Putin calls Musk “truly brilliant,” says Russia coordinates satellite operations in orbit with him",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/putin-calls-musk-truly-brilliant-says-russia-coordinates-satellite",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-28T17:24:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/298878"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At the Russia–Africa summit in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as \"truly brilliant\" and disclosed that Russia maintains regular communication with Musk and other American partners regarding low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations. Despite political differences between Moscow and Washington, Putin emphasized the importance of maintaining a disciplined and orderly approach in orbit.\n\nThis is not the first time Musk has been mentioned in connection with Russia's space operations. In July, The Insider and its investigative partners exposed documents outlining joint Russian-Chinese plans to counter Starlink. However, Putin affirmed Russia's continued collaboration with Musk's technology company, despite political disagreements, and expressed pride in developing a domestic alternative to Starlink – the Rassvet system. This broadband internet constellation is being created by Bureau 1440, which launched the first 16 production satellites into orbit in March and a second batch in July. Commercial deployment of the service is scheduled for the following year, with over 900 satellites expected to be operational by 2035.\n\nIn a recent instance, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine blamed Musk and former President Donald Trump for restricting Ukrainian access to Starlink services, which aid the Ukrainian Armed Forces in defending against Russian missile and drone assaults. While Trump denied any involvement in reducing Starlink speeds, Musk criticized Ukraine for violating the company's rules by using the platform for offensive drone strikes. On October 24, Ukraine reported that the restrictions had been lifted. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump had requested Musk to lift the restrictions prior to the decision. On October 27, Ukrainian company HIMERA and Denmark's GomSpace launched the test satellite OBRIA NANO, which will eventually form part of an independent Ukrainian communications network to minimize reliance on external providers.",
  "summary": "Vladimir Putin said that Russia maintains contact with SpaceX head Elon Musk and other American partners on issues of low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations, despite political disagreements between Moscow and Washington. The statement was made earlier today while Putin was viewing an exhibition at the Russia–Africa summit in Moscow, state-owned media agency TASS reports . Putin called Musk a…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}