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Ex-leader Trump stated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short comments from the White House, the US president informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, Umerov added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. 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 Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, 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 Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient 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 predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation 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 Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."