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Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments from the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join the talks there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump 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, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he noted: 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

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal belonged to a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. 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 give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that the country 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. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."