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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Nations

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede land under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be 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 Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine 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 said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser 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."