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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that his Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce reaction from Ukraine's officials and analysts who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks from the White House, the US president informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

However, Trump has set Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, he added: 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

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" 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.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."