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Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following strong backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, Trump informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Nations

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

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that genuine or "dignified" peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

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

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. 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 rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered very little 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 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 battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 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. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine 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 regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."