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Former President Trump remarked this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", after fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short comments from the White House, the US president informed journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Formed for Upcoming Talks

In comments this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, 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 Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to 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, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."