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Ex-leader Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", following fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to give up land under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president said that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion 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 another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to 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, he expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult 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 control Ukraine politically and territorially "for 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 said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient without American support. "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 expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill 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. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."