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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong reaction from Ukraine's officials and commentators who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump informed journalists: 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 Switzerland Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede land under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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 Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements 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 stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered very little 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 said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."