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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, after intense backlash from Ukraine's leaders and commentators who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on 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 Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up land under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces a difficult decision over the coming days involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at 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."

International Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "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 Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient 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 that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider 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 Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."