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Ex-leader Trump indicated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments from the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head 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, Umerov added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he 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, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "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 it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine 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 said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."