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Former President Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following strong reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

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

Prior to 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 details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, he added: "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."

Global Response and Criticism

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 that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it was a blueprint 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. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "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 remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

EU Leaders Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned 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 now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."