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Former President Donald Trump stated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce criticism from Ukrainian officials and commentators who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future between preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington "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."

International Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. 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 the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

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

Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep 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 it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" 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 said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."