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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after intense criticism from Ukraine's officials and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short remarks from the White House, the US president informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join the talks there.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, he 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

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

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, 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.

On social media, Nayyem said 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 Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep 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 Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 said 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, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation should be ready to give away certain regions for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser 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. A critical juncture for the European Union."