Des problèmes de connexion Starlink en Ukraine, au moment des propos de Putin sur Musk
Putin’s remarks came as Ukraine reported Starlink service problems, a reminder of how much the satellite network matters to both sides of the conflict.
By
Juliette Carrel
In brief
- Putin praised Musk as a “real genius” and said Russia is in “close” contact with him about satellite technology.
- Starlink has launched roughly 13,000 satellites, according to the company, while trackers show only a couple of dozen Rassvet satellites.
- SpaceX did not respond to the BBC and has not confirmed the contacts Putin described.
- Ukraine’s military suffered sudden Starlink connectivity problems last week, which Musk has admitted SpaceX did intentionally.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, called Elon Musk a “real genius” on Wednesday and said Moscow is in “close” contact with the SpaceX owner about satellite technology, the BBC reported.
What Putin said in Moscow
Putin spoke at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, where he discussed Rassvet, Russia’s own satellite internet project, which delivers internet connections to users from satellites. The quotes here follow a BBC translation of his words.
“He’s a genius, a real genius,”
Vladimir Putin, Russian President
He described the relationship in terms of partnership: “We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk.” In his account, the contact matters because Russian and American satellites, Rassvet and Starlink, must avoid interfering with one another while in orbit. He also said: “We and our American partners value this mutually, and despite all the political questions, we are working hard.”
Starlink belongs to Musk’s company SpaceX, which did not respond to a BBC request for comment. Nothing is described about what Putin and Musk actually discuss beyond Putin’s own words, and SpaceX has not confirmed the contacts.
A giant and a newcomer
The Russian Embassy in South Africa, on the same day, called Rassvet “Russia’s Starlink alternative” and said it “marks only the country’s first steps in this field”. The embassy also wrote that Russia keeps close contacts with the United States on space, Musk included. The gap in scale is wide.
Starlink outages and a warming US-Russia mood
Putin’s remarks came as Ukraine faced difficulties with the very service he was discussing. Ukraine had relied on Starlink internet to keep Russian forces at bay, yet its military suddenly suffered connectivity problems last week. Musk has admitted that SpaceX caused this on purpose. The BBC report does not connect those outages to the contacts Putin described.
The BBC places the comments against a background in which Washington and Moscow appear to be growing closer, with the fifth anniversary of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaching. That reading is the BBC’s own, expressed with the words “appear to be”. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said he had agreed a deal with Russia on importing diesel, intended to ease fuel prices that have shot up because of the US war with Iran. Trump then waived certain sanctions against Russia that were due to take effect.
Shortly afterwards, Russia freed a US citizen from custody, and the US envoy Steve Witkoff described Putin as a “humanitarian”.
Musk’s companies, among them Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, are all headquartered in the United States, with most operations in California and Texas. The BBC calls him one of the largest political allies and financial backers of Trump and other Republican politicians.
Photo: Pixabay / Pexels
