Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday and said Russia is in close contact with him about satellites, BBC News and The Guardian report.

Putin spoke at a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. He was comparing Musk's Starlink network with Rassvet, Russia's own satellite internet project.

"He's a genius, a real genius," Putin said of Musk, according to a BBC translation. "We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk." He said the contact matters so the two networks do not "interfere with each other in orbit," the BBC reports.

The Guardian, citing the Russian news agency Tass, reports Putin also asked how many satellites Musk has in orbit. "More than 5,000, and we're only taking the first steps," he said.

The real number is much higher. The BBC reports Starlink has launched about 13,000 satellites, citing the company. The Guardian puts the number of active SpaceX satellites at about 10,000. Russia's Rassvet network has only about two dozen, the outlets report.

Starlink is part of SpaceX. The company did not respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

Ukraine has relied on Starlink in its war with Russia. In mid-October, Ukraine's military suffered Starlink connection problems. The Guardian reports Musk first denied ordering a slowdown, then said last week that he had closed a loophole that let the military use civilian Starlink. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that service had been restored, The Guardian reports.

The remarks come as the US and Russia appear to be growing closer, the BBC reports. Earlier this month, President Trump said he had struck a deal to import Russian diesel to bring down fuel prices.

What we know: Putin called Musk a genius and said Russia is in close contact with him about satellites.
What we don't: What, if anything, Musk or SpaceX has said about the contact.