🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following intense backlash from Ukrainian officials and commentators who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory under its control to Russia, downsize its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country faces an impossible choice over the coming days between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

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

On social media, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – 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 has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal 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 sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation should be ready to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

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