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Ex-leader Trump indicated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following intense criticism from Ukrainian officials and analysts who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short comments from the White House, the US president informed journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and losing key ally in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a 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, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

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."

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 emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended 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 Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. 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 give up its freedoms, 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 noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."