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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts that likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief comments at the White House, the US president informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations there.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede land under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that real or respectable resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, 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, said they will hold discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at 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 Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. 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 noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country 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 Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized 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 the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."