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Ex-leader Trump indicated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after fierce reaction from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks at 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 we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Formed for Upcoming Talks

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, 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".

Hinting at limits, Umerov added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure who led 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", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."