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Ex-leader Trump stated this past weekend that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after intense reaction from Ukraine's leaders and commentators who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, the US president informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future involving preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, Umerov noted: "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."

Global Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

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 "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement 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.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine should be ready to give away certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". 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."