Zelensky sparks meme fest for ditching combat gear for suit at royal dinner: 'Just to impress Trump'

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS: Internet users had to double-check as they couldn’t believe their eyes after witnessing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ditching his military-style outfit for a more sophisticated look.

The 47-year-old leader looked sharp as he appeared wearing a black suit-style jacket and shirt at the royal dinner hosted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at the royal palace in Den Bosch on Tuesday, June 24.

Volodymyr Zelensky wears black suit for Dutch royal dinner

Volodymyr Zelensky is currently attending the NATO summit in The Hague in an attempt to ensure continued Western military support for his country, which is still attempting to fend off Russian forces over three years after a full-scale invasion.

During the summit, Crown Princess Amalia and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands invited the Ukrainian president for a heads of state and government dinner at the 'Huis ten Bosch' Royal Palace.

For the dinner, Zelensky opted for an all-black look. In now-viral videos, he was seen sporting a black shirt that he layered with a black jacket-style coat.

He completed the attire with a pair of black regular pants and black shoes. 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 his nation’s armed forces.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s formal attire leaves internet in disbelief

Zelensky’s decision to opt for a classic all-black formal attire for the royal dinner at the NATO summit left internet users in complete disbelief.

“Zelensky (or someone on his team) seems to have thought that the NATO Summit is sufficiently high stakes to break out a suit,” one user commented.

“Hey, he did say 'maybe something better "😅 well played Zelensky,” a second user said. “Trump successfully bullied Zelensky into wearing a suit. He looks so out of place at the NATO summit,” the third user wrote, referring to Zelensky’s White House visit.

“Well, hell must’ve frozen over — Zelenskyy actually wore a suit to the NATO Summit,” a fourth user joked, while the fifth user commented, “Just to impress Trump.”

"Zelensky finally abandoned his cosplay combats for a suit at NATO," the sixth user taunted.

“Does Zelensky shop at Kohl's? That's a really poor excuse for a suit,” one more user said. “Zelensky showed up in a classy suit for NATO. Lmao. Trump got him to wear a suit after all,” another one wrote.

Volodymyr Zelensky thanks Trump at the NATO summit

Following the royal dinner, Zelensky wore the same attire for a meeting with Donald Trump at the NATO summit, where he thanked the US president and talked about 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 continued.

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

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online