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Ex-leader Trump stated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following intense criticism from Ukraine's officials and analysts who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Various Nations

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

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: 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 Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear 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 the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed 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 stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement 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. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."