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Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", after fierce reaction from Ukrainian leaders and analysts that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short remarks from the White House, Trump informed 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 Negotiations Involve Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Russia, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing key ally in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that genuine or respectable peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, Umerov 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."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it requires "additional work". It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. 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 Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "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."