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Former President Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after strong backlash from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short comments from the White House, the US president told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations there.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between keeping 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 Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at red lines, Umerov noted: "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."

International Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement 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.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals 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 military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready ceding certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. 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 Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."