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Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following intense reaction from Ukrainian officials and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments at the White House, Trump informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has set Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, led by top aide Yermak.

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

Suggesting red lines, he added: "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."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines 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 requires further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan 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 he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended 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 Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained 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 give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager 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 said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."