Volodymyr Zelensky dons suit for Donald Trump meeting at NATO summit

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky traded his T-shirt for a suit for his second meeting with President Trump, as he praised his US counterpart following a “long” meeting at the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian war leader appeared to have learned his lesson from February’s disastrous Oval Office meeting with Trump and JD Vance, which devolved into a shouting match after Zelensky was chided for his trademark khaki military-style getup by a reporter.

Zelensky was pictured in the group photo of world leaders Tuesday wearing a black suit-style jacket and shirt, rather than his usual more casual get-up.

Although he appeared to be wearing regular trousers rather than suit pants, it was a step up from his typical attire, which he has said previously is a sign of solidarity with is armed forces.

Wednesday’s meeting between the pair appeared to go much better, with Zelensky thanking President Trump and the United States and talking of his desire for “real peace” between Ukraine and Russia.

“I had a long and substantive meeting with President Trump. We covered all the truly important issues,” Zelensky wrote in a statement on social media.

“I thank Mr President, I thank the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace. We spoke about how to protect our people.

“We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer. Details will follow,” he said.

Zelensky also wore a heavy black field jacket and buttoned black shirt when he met President Trump at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome in April, the first face-to-face meeting between the pair since their White House showdown.

On Monday, he sported a similar look as he met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, and again at Tuesday’s dinner in The Hague hosted by the Dutch king, preceding today’s NATO summit.

As Ukraine is not a member of NATO — despite Zelensky’s desire to join — the Ukrainian president was not invited to the meeting itself.

But he was granted a private meeting with President Trump afterward, at which he reportedly discussed further arms purchases from the US.

Zelensky’s team has expressed a desire to buy Patriot missile defense systems, as well as increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime through tougher sanctions.