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Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukrainian officials and analysts that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, 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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal 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 expressed 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 rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded 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.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled 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 remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready ceding certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". 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."