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Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following fierce criticism from Ukraine's officials and commentators who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short comments at the White House, the US president told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials 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 reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

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

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision over the coming days involving preserving its national dignity and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or "dignified" peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, 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

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent 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 Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. 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.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily 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 strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser 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."