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Putin Gushes Over ‘Genius’ Musk After Battlefield Bombshell

Musk admitted his Starlink had cut Ukraine off from its services.

Elon Musk has a new admirer.

The world’s richest man has been hailed a “genius” by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who gushed over his Starlink satellite project and claimed they were in “close” contact.

The Russian’s praise came after crippling speed restrictions were placed on a military-grade SpaceX system used by Ukrainian defense forces earlier this month.

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The love-in took place in Moscow during the two-day Russia-Africa Summit, where the 74-year-old tried to woo dozens of the continent’s leaders and tar the “colonial West.”

“He’s a genius, a real genius,” Putin said of the billionaire, according to a BBC translation of a broader conversation about Russia’s own internet constellation, Rassvet.

“But we are proud that we have begun to do this and started to do it independently,” he added, according to a Times of London translation.

“We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk,” he said, according to the BBC.

“We and our American partners value this mutually, and despite all the political questions, we are working hard,” Putin said.

The Daily Beast has contacted SpaceX and Tesla for comment.

Starlink is part of Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX and uses satellites to provide internet connectivity.

It has been used extensively by Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s ongoing invasion but was slowed earlier this month amid fraying ties between Kyiv and Washington, D.C. The system speeds were capped at around 100 miles per hour, officials said, severely limiting Ukraine’s capability to launch offensive strike drones and deploy high-speed interceptors against incoming Russian bombardments.

Russian officials have described Rassvet as “Russia’s Starlink alternative,” although the BBC reports that it has only a few dozen satellites compared to the 13,000 launched by Musk’s company.

Moscow’s embassy in South Africa said the project “marks only the country’s first steps in this field,” noting “Russia maintains close contacts with the U.S. on space, including with Elon Musk.”

Musk admitted on Saturday that SpaceX had curtailed Ukraine’s access to Starlink.

“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.”

He also claimed that Starlink had “done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said speeds have since returned to normal. “This is not offensive; it’s defensive,” he said, the Times reports.

The Kremlin is creeping into the void being left between the U.S. and Ukraine, with several indicators that the two historic rivals are growing closer.

President Donald Trump is a known admirer of Putin and earlier this month waived sanctions against the Kremlin. He has also agreed to allow Russian diesel imports in a desperate attempt to cut fuel prices ahead of the midterms.

In return, Moscow freed a U.S. citizen from its custody.

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In Moscow this week, Putin said the summit was an “organic part of a global transformation” and marked an end to Western hegemony. “We are witnessing a multipolar world becoming a reality,” he added, according to the Associated Press. “A trend that is both objective and irreversible.”

“The era when the destinies of entire continents were determined by a narrow bloc of states is coming to an irreversible end,” Putin said. “It is being replaced by a more just world, in which the voices of all nations participating in international affairs must be heard.”

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Harry ThompsonNews Reporter

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