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Ex-leader Trump indicated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Various Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland 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, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has given Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to cede land under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

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

International Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, saying it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO 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 Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "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 said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

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 Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – 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 regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."