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Former President Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after intense backlash from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short remarks at the White House, the US president informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, he noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded very little in the proposed deal 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 give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."