Russian President Putin has hailed billionaire Musk, an adviser to his US counterpart Trump, as a pioneer similar to Soviet space hero Korolev.

“You know, there is a man named Musk who lives in the United States, who is, so to speak, crazy about Mars,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told students during a visit to Bauman University, a science and engineering institution, in Moscow on April 16.

The Kremlin leader noted that conquering Mars is an extremely difficult task and that students interested in the idea “probably understand”.

“Such a passionate passion for a particular idea has rarely appeared in the history of mankind. Such ideas are usually realized after a while, even though they still sound unrealistic today. This is similar to the fact that the ideas of our pioneer Korolev have become reality,” President Putin added.

President Putin speaks at Bauman University in Moscow on April 16. Photo: AFP

Sergei Korolev is considered the “father” of the Soviet space program. He participated in the development of the country’s first satellite Sputnik as well as the Vostok 1 spacecraft, which carried cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961, marking the first time humans flew into space.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a powerful adviser to US President Donald Trump, heads SpaceX, the US company that launches rockets for NASA and owns the Starlink satellite network.

Billionaire Musk has frequently criticized Ukraine. He recently accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of wanting the war in the country to “go on forever”, and said Kiev had “gone too far” in the conflict.

President Putin praised Musk in September 2023 as an “outstanding person,” adding that this opinion was widely accepted around the world. “He is a dynamic, talented businessman who is very successful, partly thanks to the support of the US government,” the Russian leader said at the time.

US billionaire Elon Musk at a cabinet meeting at the White House on March 24. Photo: AFP

The latest statement was made by Mr. Putin in the context of Russia-US relations being strongly improved under the Trump administration, in which billionaire Musk is a key name with the role of reforming and streamlining the federal apparatus.

President Putin last week met for the third time with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, to discuss the Ukraine conflict. Mr. Witkoff said that at the meeting, Mr. Putin expressed his readiness to reach a long-term peace agreement with Ukraine and the two sides also discussed bilateral business agreements.