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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following strong criticism from Ukrainian officials and commentators who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, the US president informed 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 Talks Involve Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to cede territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts an impossible choice in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

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

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

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed 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, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser 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."