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Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after fierce criticism from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Multiple Nations

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

Prior to these discussions, US senators told media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed through a 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 security council official Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, he 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."

Global Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution 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 Trump’s plan, stating it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

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

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. 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 give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. 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 predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted 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."