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Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukrainian officials and analysts who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up land under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days between 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.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that real or respectable peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, 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 limits, Umerov added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal belonged to 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, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, 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 Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" without American support. 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 forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."