🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, after strong reaction from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short remarks from the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to 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

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, 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".

Hinting at red lines, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged 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 Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many 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 said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."