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Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that the Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after intense criticism from Ukrainian officials and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

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

Upcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president said that genuine or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, he noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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."

Global Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said 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 said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms 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 crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." 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, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."