🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce reaction from Ukraine's leaders and commentators that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

However, Trump has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or "dignified" resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, stated there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting 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 Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively 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 abandon a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, 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 Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."