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Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments from the White House, Trump informed journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that genuine or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, 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 Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. 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 concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded very little in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready ceding 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.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "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."