{"id":"1257011c-35b8-4f45-b34c-1ed68e4b3be1","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-putin-starlink-russia-ukraine-b3075175.html","domain":"independent.co.uk","outlet":{"name":"The Independent","country":"GB","cred":3,"lean":-1,"curated":true},"title":"Putin hails Elon Musk as ‘genius’ weeks after Starlink access slowed down for Ukraine","plainHeadline":"Putin calls Elon Musk a genius as Ukraine Starlink issues persist","rewrite":{"model":null,"at":null},"summary":["Putin praised Elon Musk as a genius during a presentation with digital minister Maksut Shadayev.","Russia is developing its own Starlink-like system and has launched over 30 satellites.","Independently tracked numbers suggest more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites are active.","Ukraine relies on Starlink/Starshield for drone and battlefield communications, facing speed restrictions earlier.","Both sides have not assigned responsibility for Starlink speed curbs, while cooperation with Musk is acknowledged."],"topics":["Politics","Space"],"lang":"eng","publishedAt":"2026-10-28T20:09:04.000Z","ingestedAt":"2026-10-28T20:45:44.748Z","story":"https://brief.concise.news/story/36f22ac6-4253-41eb-9c59-8ad905804d05","storyId":"36f22ac6-4253-41eb-9c59-8ad905804d05","image":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/26/21/2180295724.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2","author":"Dan Haygarth","dek":"Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink throughout the Russian invasion but complained earlier this month of speed restrictions"}