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Ex-leader Trump remarked this past weekend that his Russian-prepared peace plan was "not my final offer", following fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts that likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, the US president informed 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 it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Russia, reduce its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Formed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

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

Hinting at limits, 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

The Ukrainian president 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 Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, 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 remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Officials Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."