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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following strong reaction from Ukrainian officials and analysts that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days 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 Formed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president said that genuine or "dignified" peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, he added: "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."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement 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 it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old 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. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine 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 – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."