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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after strong backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts that likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, Trump told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Nations

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, Trump has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, Umerov noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps."

Global Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed 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 families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."