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Former President Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following fierce criticism from Ukraine's officials and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve 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 Geneva Talks Include Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

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."

International Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said 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 for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."