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Former President Trump stated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", after strong reaction from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Multiple Countries

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 the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

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

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Officials Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned 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 said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" 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 must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."