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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, following intense criticism from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short remarks from the White House, Trump 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 it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

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

Prior to the talks, US senators told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Deadline

However, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy said that genuine or "dignified" resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

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

Hinting at red lines, he noted: 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 a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it requires further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, 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. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

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

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, 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.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

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."