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There could barely be a simpler outfit.
A short-sleeved T-shirt in military olive green, sometimes bearing the symbol of Ukraine’s armed forces. Oftentimes it gets bunched up a little, as it digs into his biceps.
In the weeks that led up Russia’s invasion of his country, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky usually wore a suit and tie when he addressed the nation. He made sure to stand in his presidential office, usually with the Ukrainian flag as a backdrop.
Yet, in recent weeks, as Russia’s forces have attacked city after city and sought to encircle the capital Kyiv, the besieged president has adopted more basic garb, and in doing so has presented a striking image to the people he addresses.
In speeches to the US Congress and the British and Canadian parliaments, and in video messages to his people, the 44-year-old leader has chosen to wear one of these green T-shirts, seated in a simple chair and appearing to be speaking from an artificially lit room that suggests an operations centre, or a bunker, or a combination of the two. There are no visual clues that could give away his whereabouts.
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This week, Mr Zelensky delivered a high-octane speech to Congress in which he implored members of both chambers to do more to help Ukraine, and in particular to enforce a no-fly zone.
He started by evoking images of the Pearl Harbour attack of December 1941, which would take the US into the Second World War, and the al-Qaeda attacks of 9/11.
“Remember Pearl Harbour, terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,” he said through a translator.
When he closed, he spoke directly to his US counterpart Joe Biden, and he did so in English.
“I am addressing President Biden: you are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means...