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Former President Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following fierce reaction from Ukraine's leaders and commentators that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments at the White House, the US president informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts an impossible choice in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Talks

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, Umerov noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps."

International Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, saying it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said he was outraged 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 for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. "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 sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition 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."