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Ex-leader Trump remarked on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", after intense criticism from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments at the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede land under its control to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts an impossible choice in the near future between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. 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 Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. "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 it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, 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 temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."