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Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, following fierce reaction from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, Trump told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede land under its control to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, 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 Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with a White House 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 Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, 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 Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. 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 mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine should be ready ceding certain regions for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. 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 Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."