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Former President Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, the US president told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and forfeiting 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 Delegation Formed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy said that genuine or "dignified" resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, stated there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from 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 said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended 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 stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians 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 could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."