🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Trump indicated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts that likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments from the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up land under its control to Russia, reduce its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, stated there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, 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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem expressed his anger 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 families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

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 catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned 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 Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."