Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his hope that the meeting of US envoy Steve Witkoff in Russia today, Wednesday, would produce a positive result, and affirmed his support for holding tripartite talks between the leaders of Kiev, Washington, and Moscow.
Zelensky said, in an interview with Fox News, that his talks with Witkov in Oslo the day before were fruitful, and that Ukraine was ready for diplomacy. He thanked the United States for resuming the exchange of intelligence information, and expressed his hope that the restrictions imposed on the Starlink and Starshield satellite services would be lifted soon.
He said about Witkov's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin: “I hope that within hours we will get some positive results.”
Zelensky stressed the importance of stopping the fighting and moving to diplomacy and an agreement that includes security guarantees. He praised US President Donald Trump's call for a ceasefire.
Zelensky continued: “It is important to negotiate in a tripartite manner” with him, Trump and Putin, adding that it would be better to involve European countries as well.
He continued: “I have always said that we are open to negotiation in any format and on any topic. “What I ask is: Please don’t talk about us without us.”
Zelensky also noted that he spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who promised to work to address issues related to the “Starshield” service, affiliated with SpaceX, which is essentially a military-specific version of the “Starlink” service that it developed for the US Department of War, the Pentagon.
“It is still limited,” Zelensky told Fox News about the service, a day after a Wall Street Journal report stated that the company’s CEO and Trump ally, Elon Musk, had ordered a slowdown in this technology, which Ukraine relies on to defend itself against Russian missile attacks.
Rubio told reporters earlier today that decisions regarding Ukraine's access to Starlink belong to SpaceX and Elon Musk, not to the White House.
Students, pupils, teachers and public sector employees in Greece are preparing to demonstrate on Wednesday in protest against the high cost of living, pointing to similarities with the situation in France.
Rallies are expected to be held at noon in both Athens and Thessaloniki, the country's second largest city.
“Whether in Greece or France, we demand free public education,” said Katia Koposidou, a student representative of philosophy and pedagogy at Aristotle University in the city.
She added: “This will not be an isolated movement. We have a plan to continue our protests.”
Dozens of students set up “Constitution” tents in front of Parliament in Syntagma Square in Athens, and on a pedestrian street in Thessaloniki.
This is the second protest movement within a week to denounce the high housing costs, especially for students.
The Public Sector Employees Union (Adidi) also called for people to stop working starting at 11:00 local time (08:00 GMT), and to participate in a rally in Athens.
In Thessaloniki, the largest student city, banners were raised reading: “Greece and France, revolution everywhere, the same problems and the same enemy,” and “From Greece to France, we fight for free public education.”
Koposido confirmed that the situation “has become unbearable for us” because of “the high costs of study.”
Although the minimum wage in Greece has been raised since the financial crisis, its net value does not exceed 920 euros.
Secondary school students and teachers are protesting the lack of infrastructure and the lack of personnel, and are demanding increased public spending on the education sector.
The Secondary Teachers Union says that the shortage in schools amounts to 15,000 teachers.
According to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), in 2023 Greece allocated 3.3 percent of its GDP to education, compared to an average of 4.7 percent in the European Union.
While the Public Sector Employees Union praised the “massive demonstrations of the people and youth in France,” it presented a series of demands, including “increasing wages” and “providing vital support to teachers.”
In recent days, the conservative Greek government has sought to avoid any comparison with the demonstrations and acts of violence taking place in France.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed on Monday that Greece will “never return to the era of great social unrest” that the country witnessed during the financial crisis, which was characterized by unpopular austerity measures that seriously harmed the population.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday began talks with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkov regarding ending the war in Ukraine, a day after Witkov met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Official Russian media reported that talks between Putin and Wytkov began at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg.
Witkov told Putin in statements broadcast on Russian state television: “We brought some papers. “They are actually some ideas about some form of peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which you can check out when you have time.”
In addition, the Russian President announced the release of American Stephen Hubbard, who was captured by Russian forces years ago in Ukraine.
News agencies quoted Putin as saying that Hubbard was at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, adding that Witkov thanked Putin for his release during their meeting in the city.
Hubbard, a retired English teacher in the seventies, was sentenced in a closed trial in October 2024 to about seven years in prison on charges of “fighting as a mercenary” for Ukraine, a charge he denies.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he had asked Putin to release Hubbard. “I spoke to him at length,” he told reporters in Washington. She asked him to release him. "Let's see what happens."
Witkoff said Wednesday that Trump and "our entire nation extend their thanks (after the release of) Stephen Hubbard."
The visit of the US President's special envoy is part of efforts to turn the page on a sharp disagreement between the Ukrainian and American presidents over the war with Russia. Following his talks with Witkov in Oslo, Zelensky thanked Washington (Tuesday) for resuming providing his country with intelligence information regarding the Russian strikes.
This positive tone came after days of tension between Kiev and Washington, after Trump concluded an agreement with Putin to resume Russian diesel exports and called for Zelensky to step down after Ukraine continued its strikes on Russian oil refineries.
