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Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", after fierce backlash from Ukrainian leaders and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments from the White House, Trump informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future involving keeping its national dignity and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that genuine or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.

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

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended 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 a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little 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 give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

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