Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has worn a combination of military-style outfits — including T-shirts, sweatshirts, and polos — in lieu of traditional suits. In August 2025, ahead of Zelenskyy's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, many online posts claimed the White House demanded the Ukrainian president wear a suit or he would not get a meeting with Trump.
The rumor referenced the last time Zelenskyy visited the White House, in February 2025, when he faced criticism from conservatives and some reporters for wearing a full-sleeve black polo shirt emblazoned with Ukraine's coat of arms instead of a suit. The rumor appeared to originate from a post on X that was repeated on tabloid site Daily Express.
The post claimed:
The White House has informed the Ukrainian delegation that Zelensky MUST wear a suit or there will be no meeting! Bravo White House. It's a formal meeting, and the presidency of the U.S. is an institution that demands the highest level of formality!
(X user @defense_civil25)
On Aug. 18, 2025, while meeting Trump, Zelenskyy did not wear the typical suit favored by most male politicians but opted for a fully black outfit with a closed jacket. We reached out to the White House and Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine whether the Trump administration put any pressure or conditions on Zelenskyy to wear such an outfit. Without more information, we cannot confirm what was said behind the scenes between the two countries' administrations.
Other than some anonymous sources speaking to Axios, we found no publicly available evidence of White House officials forcing Zelenskyy to wear a suit as a condition of meeting Trump. These sources even spoke about Zelenskyy's suit in jest, suggesting it would be a good sign if he wore a suit while meeting Trump, but not expecting it from him.
Below is the full-length shot of Zelenskyy's outfit during his Aug. 18 meeting with Trump. He wearing a black military-style jacket, a black button-up collared shirt without a tie and black pants.
(Tasos Katopodis/Getty Image)
The controversy broke out in February 2025, during Zelenskyy's previous visit to the White House. According to numerous reports, when he showed up in a polo shirt, Trump sarcastically quipped Zelenskyy was "all dressed up today." During that meeting, Brian Glenn, a reporter from conservative news station Real America's Voice, criticized Zelenskyy for not appearing in a suit.
Glenn said, to laughter from U.S. Vice President JD Vance: "Why don't you wear a suit? You're at the highest level in this country's office, and you refuse to wear a suit."
Zelenskyy responded: "I will wear costume after this war finishes, yes. Maybe something like yours, yes, maybe something better." ("Kostyum" is one Ukrainian translation of "suit.")
Axios spoke to a number of anonymous U.S. officials who said Zelenskyy would probably wear the same business-style black jacket at the August meeting that he wore at a June NATO summit, which reportedly pleased Trump. A U.S. official told Axios in June: "Zelenskyy came like a normal human being, not crazy, and was dressed like somebody that should be at NATO. … So they had a good conversation."
Ahead of the August meeting, an anonymous Trump adviser told Axios that Zelenskyy wearing a suit "would be a good sign for peace" but he wasn't expected to wear one.
Another source said, "It would be great if he wore a tie but we don't expect him to." The same source added that Vance was more annoyed by Zelenskyy's lack of a tie than was Trump.
Elvira Gasanova, a Ukrainian designer behind some of Zelenskyy's outfits, told Politico in an Aug. 18 report:
This time the President [Zelenskyy] will be in a suit, but the style still remains in a military key with the same symbolism: he is the Head of State, which is at war […] At the same time, it is important to emphasize that it is Volodymyr Zelenskyy who personally decides what to wear. […] The President is now in a state where every detail matters — his appearance, mood, emotions. Therefore, as the Leader of Ukraine, he chooses the image that best suits his role and moment.
During the August meeting, Glenn praised Zelenskyy's suit, saying, "President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit," and apologized for criticizing his outfit in February. Zelenskyy retorted, "You are in the same suit. I changed, you did not."
We've fact-checked numerous rumors about Zelenskyy, including the false claim that he blocked Trump's social media site, TruthSocial, in Ukraine.