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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following intense criticism from Ukrainian officials and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks there.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, Umerov added: 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

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

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

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement 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.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine 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 proposed.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna 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 – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."