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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after fierce criticism from Ukrainian officials and analysts that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, the US president informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Various Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations there.

Ahead of the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president said that genuine or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at red lines, he 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 Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines 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, saying it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "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 remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals 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 vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider to give away certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "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 continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."