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Ex-leader Trump remarked this past weekend that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following fierce reaction from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump informed journalists: 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."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join the talks there.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

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

Hinting at red lines, he added: "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 Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

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", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

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

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it 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 could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement 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."