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Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", after intense criticism from Ukraine's leaders and analysts that likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede land under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."