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Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukraine's leaders and commentators that compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, Trump told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up land under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

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

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, 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 Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

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 further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a public figure 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", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged 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 Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained 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 it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."