US President Donald Trump has indicated that his proposed peace plan for Ukraine is not a final offer, following widespread criticism from Ukrainian officials who likened it to the 1938 Munich Agreement. Speaking at the White House on Saturday, Trump said, “We’d like to get to peace … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended.”
Ukrainian and American officials are set to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the 28-point document, with security officials from France, Britain, and Germany also expected to attend. The plan, which calls on Kyiv to cede territory to Russia, reduce its army size, and relinquish long-range weapons, has been met with fierce opposition in Ukraine.
In a sombre address on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that his country faces an impossible choice between maintaining national dignity and losing US support. He described the coming days as one of the most difficult moments in Ukraine’s history. On Saturday, he appointed a negotiating team led by chief of staff Andriy Yermak to meet US counterparts in Geneva.
Former Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov, a member of the delegation, said consultations would focus on “the possible parameters of a future peace agreement”, hinting at red lines. He added that Ukraine approaches the process with a clear understanding of its interests.
The US State Department has denied claims that the proposal was a Russian wish list, with deputy spokesman Tommy Piggott calling such assertions “blatantly false”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the plan was authored by the US as a framework for negotiations based on input from both sides.
Ukrainian commentators have drawn parallels between Trump’s plan and Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 Munich Agreement with Hitler. Mustafa Nayyem, a leader of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution, criticised the plan’s full amnesty for Russian war crimes, calling it a “cynical agreement” that insults victims of atrocities in Bucha and Mariupol.
