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Former President Trump indicated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", after strong backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, the US president told 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 it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between preserving its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, he added: 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

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

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. "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 said. If rejected, 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 Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted 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 expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."