President Donald Trump was presented with an engraved golf putter from a Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg while fighting Russian forces, according to the New York Post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave Trump the gift at the White House on Monday on behalf of Junior Sgt. Kostyantyn Kartavtsev. The phrase “Let’s putt peace together!” was reportedly engraved on the club.
“I am one of those soldiers you have spoken about — they’re courageous, they are good soldiers,” Kartavtsev said in a video message Zelenskyy showed Trump. “I lost a leg rescuing my fellow men and am recovering here with golf.”
In a responding video message, Trump, who is an avid golfer, told Kartavtsev, “I know a lot about golf, and your swing is great.”
“It looks beautiful, and you’re going to be a very good golfer very soon, but I also want to thank you for this putter,” the president said, according to the Post. “It’s beautiful, and it’s made with real love, and it’s given to me with real love from you, and I appreciate that.”
The Ukrainian Golf Federation’s United By Golf program, which focuses on rehabilitating veterans, provided the prosthetic leg that Kartavtsev uses to play golf, according to the Post.
“This is a gift from a man who knows the true price of peace,” United By Golf said in a statement. “Like all those on the frontlines today, he continues to defend our freedom.”
In his message, Kartavtsev said that golf has been a central part of his recovery, as he makes the adjustment to an artificial limb, and credited the game with helping him regain his balance “both physically and emotionally.”
“Golf took me out into the fresh air, helped me breathe freely and switch from war to peace; it gave me the path to healing,” he reportedly said in his native Ukrainian. “Previously, I had only seen it on TV, but it became more than just part of rehabilitation.”
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Kartavtset has also continued practicing archery and using a rowing machine despite the amputation of his leg. The outlet reported that he trains in one of Kyiv’s parks with his son.
In October 2023, he also reportedly took part in the first nationwide adaptive golf competition as part of a Kyiv team of injured servicemembers.
Upon learning Zelenskyy was set to travel to the U.S. to meet with Trump, Kartavtsev contacted his office to ask if he would deliver the putter to the American president, Ukrainian officials told the Post.
“Today, I give you my [putter,] not as an athlete, but as a warrior who dreams of peace through strength,” Kartavtsev said in the message. “Please help Ukraine live again without war.”
Seemingly touched by the sentiment, Trump reportedly told Kartavtset in his reply, “Every time I sink a putt, I’ll be thinking of you.”
"Your country is a great country,” the president added. “We are trying to bring it back to health and your president is working very, very hard to make it that way. So again, I want to thank you — keep swinging. The putter is beautiful, I will use it.”
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