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Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted "not my final offer", after intense reaction from Ukrainian officials and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

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

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers told the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult 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.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded very little in the proposed deal 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 it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine 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 said 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, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."