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Former President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following fierce criticism from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks from the White House, Trump informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to cede territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days involving preserving its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it requires further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in 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 formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded very little in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. 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 said. If rejected, 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 noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" 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 that the president is intelligent and forecasted 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 ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians 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.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."