Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned up to the White House in a black suit with no tie, telling Donald Trump, “It’s the best I had.”
His choice of clothing was a point of contention during his last Oval Office meeting in February, when he was berated by Vice President JD Vance for wearing a military-style outfit.
On Monday, Zelenskyy was notably dressed to please, and his change of outfit was welcomed by the U.S. president.
Highlights
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore a black suit without a tie to please Donald Trump, who welcomed the change from Zelenskyy's previous military-style outfit.
- Trump pledged security guarantees for Ukraine if a peace deal falls apart, hinting at NATO-like protection, but details remain unclear.
- European leaders joined Zelenskyy and Trump in Washington, highlighting strong Western support amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- Trump and Emmanuel Macron's hot-mic moment revealed Trump's belief Putin wants a deal 'for him.’
- Zelenskyy confirmed a $90 billion U.S. arms deal and pushed for abducted Ukrainian children's return as part of any peace talks.
Zelenskyy wore a black suit to the meeting, but no tie. Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“I love it,” Trump told Zelenskyy as he greeted him outside the White House.
It was also commented on by reporter Brian Glenn, who attacked Zelenskyy over his refusal to wear a suit during his last Oval Office meeting.
“President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit,” Glenn noted. “You look good.”
After Trump agreed and reminded Zelenskyy of his previous comments, the Ukrainian president replied: “You are in the same suit. I changed, you have not.”
The comments came as Zelenskyy and other European leaders headed to Washington after Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Some key takeaways from the meeting include Trump’s U-turn on the need for a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump will support Ukraine, but details are yet to be confirmed
Trump confirmed that he will offer security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia collapsing.
The exact details of what that security could look like are not confirmed yet, but special envoy Steve Witkoff suggested over the weekend it could mean “Article 5-like protection.”
Article 5 is a NATO alliance pact that means if one member is attacked, every member of the alliance will consider it an attack against all and will take action.
JD Vance and Marco Rubio joined the pair in the White House. Image credits: The White House
Putin is staunchly against Ukraine joining NATO, but Trump said the Kremlin had agreed to the U.S. providing security assurances as part of a peace deal.
Trump said that while Europe is the “first line of defense,” the U.S. will be involved and will offer “good protection.”
At a press conference after the meeting, Zelenskyy said he expected security guarantees to be finalized within the next 10 days.
He also confirmed that it would include a $90 billion arms deal for U.S. weapons that Ukraine currently does not have, such as aviation systems and anti-missile systems.
The U.S. has been providing weapons to Ukraine indirectly, facilitating sales to NATO countries that have provided Ukraine with weapons.
A meeting with Putin could be next on the cards
Several European leaders joined Zelenskyy and Trump in the East Room at the White House after their meeting.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb were all in attendance.
As was Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
In a hot-mic moment, Trump told Macron he believes Putin wants to make a deal ‘for him.’ Image credits: The White House
Before the group sat down for discussions, a hot mic picked up on a conversation between Trump and Macron, which appeared to discuss Putin.
“I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as it sounds,” Trump was heard telling Macron.
The U.S. president reportedly spoke to Putin on the phone for about 40 minutes after the meeting.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”
While Zelenskyy has been open to meeting Putin for face-to-face discussions, it is something the Russian leader has previously rejected.
Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, released a statement after that phone call, describing it as “quite frank and constructive.”
But he did not confirm the possibility of a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, instead saying there was a discussion on “drawing higher-ranking officials from both Ukraine and Russia into these direct talks.”
Discussions on the possibility of land swaps between Russia and Ukraine
In the lead-up to his meeting with Putin, and with Zelenskyy, Trump had repeated that land swaps between Russia and Ukraine must be agreed to make peace.
Reports last week suggested that Russia wanted control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as areas it has already seized.
It was something rejected by Zelenskyy, who noted that Russia has been unable to fully seize Donbas and said any land swaps would be against the Ukrainian Constitution.
European leaders joined Zelenskyy at the White House. Image credits: The White House
At Monday’s meeting, Trump once again brought up the idea of ceding territory.
“We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact,” Trump said, reading from pre-prepared remarks.
“That means the war zone, the war lines that are pretty obvious. Very sad actually to look at them.”
However, instead of further discussions on what territory could be swapped, Trump said it was a decision that could only be made by Zelenskyy and Putin at a bilateral meeting.
Zelenskyy also confirmed that no “unacceptable decisions” had been made on territory at the meeting.
Trump has changed his stance on a ceasefire
Trump went into his meeting with Putin last week with a goal in mind: secure a ceasefire.
The two leaders left Alaska without such an assurance being made, and Trump later posted on social media that he did not believe a ceasefire was needed.
It was a stance he reiterated at the meeting on Monday.
Trump left his meeting with Putin without a deal. Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“I don't think you need a ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office, ABC News reported. “I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically, like, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it.”
His stance was challenged by European leaders in attendance, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushing back.
“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said, according to the BBC.
“So, let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”
Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire is described by Ukraine as a delay tactic so Russia can continue to pursue battlefield gains.
Zelenskyy is open to a meeting with Putin. Image credits: The White House
Analysts say that a ceasefire would also give both sides a chance to regroup and bolster military capabilities.
When questioned, Trump dodged answering what the root cause of the war between Russia and Ukraine was, instead focusing on his own achievements.
“You know, I’ve done six wars, I’ve ended six wars and I thought this maybe would be the easiest one,” Trump said. “And it’s not the easiest one. It’s a tough one.”
“A lot of reasons for it,” Trump added. “And they’ll be talking about it for a long time, but they’ll be talking about the others.”
Trump joked about going to war to bypass the 2028 U.S. election
Other notable moments from the meeting include Trump joking about the U.S. going to war so he can avoid the end of his second term in 2028.
There has not been an election in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022, with Zelenskyy’s term ending last year.
The Ukrainian president was asked if he would consider an election when peace was secured.
“Yes, of course,” Zelenskyy replied, but noted there would be work to do in Parliament because “during the war you can’t have elections.”
It was an idea that appeared to intrigue Trump.
“So you’re saying, during the war you can’t have elections,” he asked.
“So let me just say, three-and-a-half years from now, so you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections.”
Zelenskyy laughed and responded: “You like this idea.”
The Ukrainian president also showed up to the meeting with a letter for first lady Melania Trump, from Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska.
It appeared to be inspired by a letter Melania had penned to Putin, later shared on social media by Trump.
In the letter, she had urged Putin to protect the children affected by war and said he could restore their “melodic laughter” with the stroke of a pen.
Bring Kids Back UA reports that there have been nearly 20,000 reports of the unlawful deportation or forced transfers of children from Ukraine to Russia.
It estimates that only 1,509 have been returned.
Zelenskyy has made the return of abducted children a condition of any peace deal reached with Russia.
Putin is subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for suspected war crimes relating to the deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.