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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was "not my final offer", after intense criticism from Ukrainian officials and commentators that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump told 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 it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations there.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, Trump has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to give up land under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated there would be consultations with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, he 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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered very little 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.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready ceding certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."