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Ex-leader Trump indicated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", following intense criticism from Ukrainian leaders and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve 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 Geneva Negotiations Involve Various Nations

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. 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 Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land under its control to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, Umerov noted: 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

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan 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, said 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.

In a Facebook post, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister 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 – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced 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. A critical juncture for the European Union."