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Former President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan was "not my final offer", after intense criticism from Ukraine's officials and commentators who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, Trump told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, Umerov 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."

Global Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, saying it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it was a blueprint 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 Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep 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 Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland 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 – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."