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Ex-leader Trump stated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, after fierce reaction from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks from the White House, the US president told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has given Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out international peacekeepers 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 involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that genuine or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at red lines, he added: "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."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels 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.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded very little in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms 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 battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient without American support. "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 in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill 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."