Volodymyr Zelensky probably has a lot on his mind right now.

He’s three years into a war that has killed 70,000 of his people, and he’s now meeting a man who’s never been shy about his dislike of him.

Fashion is unlikely something the Ukrainian leader has too much of his time to think about, but it seems today is different.

Zelesnky swapped out his usual military-style clothing for a shaper look for his meeting at the White House with Donald Trump today.

‘Look, I like it!’ the US President said after seeing Zelensky’s black field jacket, buttoned-up black shirt and black trousers.

‘It’s the best I have,’ Zelenskyy replied.

A change of clothing isn’t a big deal to most, but Zelensky has regularly worn standard-issue field uniforms as a display of solidarity with his country’s armed forces since the war erupted.

He wore such an outfit –  a black long-sleeved polo shirt with the Ukrainian trident as a crest – during his last visit to the White House in March.

‘Oh look, you’re all dressed up,’ Trump spat as he greeted his Ukrainian counterpart at the entrance to the West Wing.

The fatigues quickly became part of Trump’s infamous verbal smackdown of the Ukrainian leader in front of the media cameras.

Brian Glenn, of the Real America’s Voice network, asked the wartime leader why he doesn’t wear a suit and implied it was a sign of disrespect.

Zelensky replied: ‘I will wear a costume [Ukrainian, meaning suit] after this war finishes, yes. Maybe something like yours, yes, maybe something better.

‘I don’t know, we will see. Maybe something cheaper. Thank you.’

While Zelensky didn’t wear what Glenn did in the end – a blue suit with argyll socks and a patterned tie – it seems it got the right-wing cable channel correspondent’s seal of approval this time.

He told Zelensky: ‘You look fabulous in that suit.’

Trump said, ‘I said the same thing,’ before leaning into Zelensky and adding: ‘That’s the one that attacked you last time.’

‘I remember that,’ Zelensky replied. He then noted to Glenn: ‘You are in the same suit. I changed, you have not.’

The President of Ukraine’s black jacket was designed by the Kyiv-based designer Viktor Anisimov, which he threw on for the first time in April for Pope Francis’ funeral.

Anisimov told WWD that he tried to tweak the military get-ups Zelensky has worn for years to ‘create a dignified image that reflects the reality of the time our country is living through’.

Trump has actually seen the jacket before – Zelensky wore it with a black undershirt, trousers and combat boots during the NATO summit in June.

And it seems Trump was keen to see Zelensky wear it again – the White House asked Ukrainian officials if he would wear a suit ahead of today’s meeting, sources told Axios.

‘It would be great if he wore a tie, but we don’t expect him to,’ the source joked.

Zelensky did not. He vowed in 2022 to never wear a suit and tie until Ukraine has won the war.

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