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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede territory under its control to Russia, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts an impossible choice in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, he added: "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."

International Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent 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 in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals 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. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

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 suggested that the nation should be ready ceding certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

EU Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."