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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following strong reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts that likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief comments from the White House, the US president told journalists: "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."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up land under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based 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 from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting 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."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, saying it requires "additional work". It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa 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".

In a Facebook post, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

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 suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, 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" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted 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."