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Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following fierce criticism from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at 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."

International Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – 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, Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained 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 sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition 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."