Donald Trump looked extremely pleased with a special golf club that was presented to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The sports equipment came as a gift from a Ukrainian sergeant who lost his leg in the war with Russia. Here’s how President Trump reacted to the heartfelt gift.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently attended a meeting at the White House to discuss possible solutions to the Russia-Ukraine war. During the meeting, the Ukrainian President whipped out a golf club meant as a gift for Trump.
The gift featured an engraved message that read, “Let’s putt peace together.” It was a gift from Junior Sergeant Kostyantyn Kartavtsev. The Junior sergeant himself is a fan of the sport that Trump enjoys in his free time. Kartavtsev became fond of golfing after he was fitted with a prosthetic leg.
Trump got to hear a message recorded by the junior sergeant while Zelenskyy handed him the golf club. “I am one of those soldiers you have spoken about – they’re courageous, they are good soldiers,” the Ukrainian soldier was heard saying in the clip.
He went on to share how he lost his leg while rescuing a fellow soldier. The junior sergeant also noted how the sport of golf has been helping him recover. Kartavtsev added that golfing has helped him breathe freely. The sport also allowed him to “switch from war to peace; it gave me the path to healing.”
Zelenskyy presented Trump with a golf club — the U.S. president’s favorite sport.
The gift was given on behalf of Junior Sergeant of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kostiantyn Kartavtsev, who lost his leg in the first months of russia’s full-scale invasion while saving his comrades.… pic.twitter.com/fYFaOAzbIs
— Roman Sheremeta 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@rshereme) August 19, 2025
The golf club was gifted to President Trump by the sergeant, “not as an athlete, but as a warrior who dreams of peace through strength.” The Ukrainian soldier urged the President to help Ukraine “live without war again.”
“Every time I sink a putt, I’ll be thinking of you,” Trump responded while graciously receiving the gift. He was also shown a video of the junior sergeant looking happy while playing golf. The President had notes for the soldier from his decades of playing the sport.
Trump boasted how he knew a “lot” about golf and noted that Kartavtsev’s swing was great. He added that the junior sergeant’s swing was “beautiful” and assured him that he had the potential to be a “very good golfer very soon.” The President also thanked the Ukrainian soldier for the gift that he was sure was given to him with “real love.”
Trump accepts golf club from Ukraine war veteran gifted by Zelensky pic.twitter.com/ZnItrdGPiG
— Roya News English (@RoyaNewsEnglish) August 19, 2025
Kyiv officials spoke to the New York Post and revealed that the idea to gift the US President a golf club was the junior sergeant’s. He reached out to Zelenskyy’s office and asked if he could deliver the gift to Trump.
The sergeant was able to play the sport because of the Ukrainian Golf Federation’s United By Golf program. The program is built with the aim of helping veterans with rehabilitation. The organisation addressed the gift Kartavtsev gave to Trump while labelling him as a man who “knows the true price of peace.”
