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Former President Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, following intense reaction from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told media outlets that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

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 Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear 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 released a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal belonged to a similar category, with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

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.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. 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

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

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