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Ex-leader Trump remarked this past weekend that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, after strong reaction from Ukraine's officials and analysts who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short 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’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede land under its control to Russia, reduce its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or respectable peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, appointed 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 security council official Rustem Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, he noted: 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 Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

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

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced 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 frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced 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."