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Former President Trump remarked this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce criticism from Ukraine's leaders and analysts that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve 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."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will 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 the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, said there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, he added: 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."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem expressed 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 Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals 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.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" 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 forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. 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. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."