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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was "not my final offer", after fierce criticism from Ukraine's officials and commentators who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments from the White House, the US president told journalists: "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 Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to cede land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president said that real or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, Umerov noted: "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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House 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 protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. 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.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared 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 other European regions too.

Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained 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 it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 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 Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."