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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after strong backlash from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, the US president informed reporters: "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 Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Countries

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

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

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

Hinting at limits, Umerov noted: 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."

International Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined 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 Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

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

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

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" 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 said.

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 noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine 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.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."