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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after intense reaction from Ukrainian leaders and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, Trump 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 we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Talks Include Various Nations

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

Prior to these discussions, US senators told 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. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede territory under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led 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 consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, 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."

International Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. 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, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "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 remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."