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Ex-leader Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", following fierce criticism from Ukrainian officials and commentators who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

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

Ahead of the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president said that genuine or "dignified" peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official 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 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation should be ready 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 Officials Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

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