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Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong backlash from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, he added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it requires further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

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

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."