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Ex-leader Trump stated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce reaction from Ukrainian officials and commentators that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, the US president informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Countries

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

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to cede land under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, Umerov added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it requires "additional work". It said 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 European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

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

On social media, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "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 said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, 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 remarked.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent 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 mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Officials Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians 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.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."