A snapshot of a budding bromance: Putin called Musk a genius
According to Vladimir Putin, Russia closely cooperates with its American space industry partners, including Elon Musk, despite political disagreements, whom he called "a brilliant man". The Russian president praised the SpaceX founder at an exhibition in Moscow, just one day after Musk justified restricting Starlink's military use in Ukraine by citing the risk of Russian destruction of satellites.
Putin viewed the Rassvet satellite system, intended as Russia's answer to Starlink, at an exhibition linked to the Russia–Africa summit. At the presentation he acknowledged that Russia is still only at the first steps in this field, then praised Musk's achievements, calling him a true genius and adding that Moscow maintains close ties with its American partners, including Musk, because in Earth orbit it is important that actors not get in each other's way and that they observe certain operating rules.
The timing of the presidential praise is particularly notable, since the day before, Musk had written that Starlink must remain a civilian system: in his view, it can support the operation of military infrastructure, but it cannot be used for clearly offensive strikes, as that could make it a target for retaliatory attacks. According to his reasoning, destroying satellites could cause further collisions and large amounts of space debris, endangering the usability of space. According to a report by Meduza, Ukrainian forces experienced restrictions in the operation of satellite terminals in mid-October: the connection cut out when the drones using them exceeded speeds of 160 kilometers per hour. Western press reports cited by the outlet linked this to an initiative by Musk, who later justified the move by citing offensive operations, while the Ukrainian side disputed his claim about Starlink being used against Russian territory.
This is how the peculiar political picture of the two days comes together: Musk talks about the risk of Russian retaliatory measures, while the Ukrainians face restrictions on communications that are vital to them, and the next day Putin praises the brilliant American entrepreneur and the ties maintained with him. This does not in itself prove that the restrictions were coordinated with Moscow, but it does clearly show just how vulnerable a position is created when a country under attack has its important military capabilities depend on the decisions of the hyper-narcissistic head of a private company.
Putin explained the ties primarily in terms of the safe operation of satellites and coordination in orbit, without disclosing any concrete joint business or development agreement, but by emphasizing cooperation maintained despite political disagreements, he once again conveyed the message that Moscow finds common ground with its American partners, while Ukraine has to argue over the terms of a service essential to its own defense. And in this, the Kremlin's bloody-handed master is probably right.
Madness
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