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Ex-leader Trump indicated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, following intense criticism from Ukrainian leaders and analysts that likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, the US president informed journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators told media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up land under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces a difficult decision over the coming days involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or "dignified" peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, Umerov 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."

Global Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying 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 European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "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 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 Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."