🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following intense criticism from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva 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", according to Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or "dignified" resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, stated there would be consultations 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 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 sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, stating it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. 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 forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready ceding certain regions for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."