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Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following strong reaction from Ukrainian leaders and analysts that compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks at the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to 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."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, Umerov 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined 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 enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", 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 the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."