$1300 from Obama and Biden, an e‑bike and a pistol: what gifts Ukraine’s presidents have received

Presidents are given many strange things. Some receive rugs the size of a small apartment, some — electric bicycles, some — commemorative pistols, and some are handed purely symbolic keys to the residences of other heads of state. There are also gifts that have a concrete monetary value: for example, Petro Poroshenko received a platter from U.S. President Barack Obama for $700, and from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden — a stainless steel eagle sculpture for $600.

But the strangest thing in the history of presidential gifts in Ukraine is often not what was given or how much it cost. The most interesting part begins after the ceremonial presentation, when the cameras are turned off. According to the rules, a gift to the head of state should not simply go home with them. It must be recorded, handed over to responsible persons, and then sent to the Presidents of Ukraine Fund at the V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

On paper everything looks quite civilized. In practice, the public trace of some gifts ends precisely along that route.

A presidential gift is not exactly a gift to the president

The Presidents of Ukraine Fund was created back in 1996 during Leonid Kuchma’s time. Its museum section collects gifts that Ukrainian presidents received while performing their duties. In total, the collection numbers about 1900 documents and items.

It’s important to understand one detail: the Fund is not a kind of “customs office for presidential gifts” that independently tracks every souvenir that reaches the head of state’s hands. It receives what the protocol unit of the Office of the President hands over. That is why the absence of a specific gift in the Fund’s public description does not yet prove that it is not physically in the state collection. But the reverse also applies: if an item was not transferred to the Fund, tracing its subsequent path in open sources becomes much harder.

So there is a fairly simple scheme: the president receives a gift, it must be recorded, then the item should go through the appropriate transfer procedure. After that it either goes to the Fund’s museum section or is stored in a special repository.

And here a small but very interesting word appears — “where?”

Where exactly is the gift stored? Who accepted it? What is its official value? Does it have an inventory number? When was it transferred to the Fund? Is it currently on display? And if it’s not on display — where exactly is it kept?

For most of these questions about specific presidential gifts, there are no answers in open sources.

Kuchma and the rug that fit an entire political club

One of the most spectacular items in the Presidents Fund collection is associated with Leonid Kuchma. It is a large handmade wool rug woven in Tajikistan.

Its size is 3 by 5 meters, i.e., 15 square meters. This is an important detail, because for years various publications circulated a figure of 30 square meters. However, a specialist piece on the Presidents Fund specifies it as 3×5 meters.

The rug depicts portraits of the presidents of CIS countries. Among them you can see Kuchma himself, Boris Yeltsin, Alexander Lukashenko, as well as the leaders of Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan and other states.

It looks as if someone decided to immortalize a political summit not in a photograph or a protocol album, but on a huge rug.

The rug was among the first relics related to Kuchma’s presidency to be transferred to the Fund. Its existence and origin from Tajikistan are confirmed by public sources.

And here the same “but” begins.

Open materials do not contain the exact date the rug was presented, no confirmation that it was personally gifted to Kuchma by Tajikistan’s president Emomali Rahmon, no official museum title, no inventory number and, crucially for our piece, no recorded value.

So before us is a huge exotic state gift about which much is known, but we cannot call it “the most expensive gift to a Ukrainian president.” Simply because no one has publicly shown the figure.

Yanukovych was even given ritual items

During Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency a variety of gifts also ended up in the Fund, including paintings.

Among the items officially mentioned in the Presidents Fund are an Olympic torch from 2012, donated by athletes; a crystal boxing glove from the winners and medalists of the World Boxing Championship in 2011; a Ukraine national football team uniform with number 12; a hockey uniform; national costumes; exclusive statuettes; icons; and handmade dinner services. A significant part of this collection is connected to Euro‑2012 and sporting events that fell during Yanukovych’s presidential term. Among the items described in older publications is the so‑called ritual chalice.

If some of his presidential gifts can be seen in the Presidents Fund, after Yanukovych’s flight in 2014 journalists and law enforcement gained access to another, much larger array of items — those that remained in his residence Mezhyhirya.

It was precisely the documents found there that made it possible to establish not only the gifts themselves but in many cases their donors. And the list turned out to be so varied that the presidential souvenir set sometimes resembled the catalog of an antique salon.

Among the gifts recorded in documents and materials found after the president’s flight was a Bible illustrated by Salvador Dalí. The edition contained 105 original lithographs. The Presidents Fund at the time noted that determining its value without a special expert commission was impossible. In other words, even museum specialists were reluctant to name a price for such an item.

The list of early printed books looks even more interesting. Yanukovych was given, among other things, Ivan Fedorov’s Apostle from 1574, and among the items found in Mezhyhirya there was also a Menaion from 1789, which was presented by then head of the control and audit office Petro Andriyev.

There were also items that looked much more modern but no less showy. For example, deputy Volodymyr Makeyenko presented Yanukovych with a silver set “Swan” — a vodka stand and an caviar dish made of silver of 925 fineness with a total weight of over 1,2 kg.

Viktor Pshonka, the then Prosecutor General, gave an amphora from the Italian company Baldi. Journalists found similar items from that firm in catalogs priced at roughly 8–10 thousand dollars. That is the price of comparable items, not the established value of the specific gift to Yanukovych, so those figures should not be conflated.

A separate category is items that today seem almost surreal. Among Yanukovych’s gifts were a picture made of amber, a statuette of a golden pharaoh, a globe that rotates on its own, and various decorative objects. There was even a statuette of Yanukovych himself with the inscription “Symbol of our victory.” It was given by Dmytro Tymchenko.

Another particularly unusual gift was a copy of the Odesa student church of Saint Tatiana about 30 centimeters high, which Serhiy Kivalov presented to Yanukovych. From Volodymyr Lytvyn the president received an icon of Saint Victor and an early printed Apostle, and from Patriarch Filaret — a Bible in a leather binding.

There were less pompous gifts as well. For example, journalists from the “Stop Censorship!” movement gave Yanukovych a bicycle. However, it was not a diplomatic gesture but a political action: together with the bicycle they reminded the president of freedom of speech.

It is telling that Yanukovych’s gifts came not only from foreign delegations or state structures. Donors included politicians, officials, heads of state bodies and people from big business. After the president’s flight, journalists from Skhemy gained access to Mezhyhirya documents that allowed linking specific gifts to particular donors. Some items had such ancient or high cultural provenance that another question arose: where did the person who gave such an item to the president themselves get it and how much did they pay for it? That was the question journalists asked donors at the time.

There is also a detail that explains well the difference between the official presidential collection and Yanukovych’s “personal” space. The Presidents Fund stores gifts of all heads of state, but its collection is much smaller than the number of items found in Mezhyhirya. According to the Fund, the museum collection of presidential gifts numbers about 1900 documents and items, including works of art, rugs, tableware, musical instruments, decorative weapons, paintings, sculptures, models of military equipment and other things.

Therefore, with Yanukovych it is especially important not to confuse two concepts: “a gift to the president” and “property found in the president’s residence.” Not every expensive item from Mezhyhirya was automatically a gift, and not every gift necessarily remained there. Some items were indeed transferred to the state collection, some remained in the residence, and questions about the provenance of some items arose after 2014.

There is another interesting nuance. In 2014 journalists gained access to documents from Mezhyhirya that contained data about Yanukovych’s gifts, and they showed the scale of the phenomenon. It was no longer about a hypothetical vase from a foreign delegation, but about a system in which the president received antiques, early printed books, silver, works of art and expensive decorative items from people in his political and business circle.

And here the most interesting question for our piece arises: how many of these items were truly presidential gifts, which of them ended up in the state Fund, and which remained Yanukovych’s private property? Unlike the American system, where state gifts to the president are meticulously recorded, the Ukrainian public picture for a long time remained much less transparent.

Poroshenko: American gifts with very specific price tags

The most interesting documented case of a gift concerns Petro Poroshenko.

In September 2014, during a visit to the U.S., Poroshenko received from President Barack Obama a platter with an inscribed name. Its official value was $700.

Another gift — a stainless steel eagle sculpture valued at $600 — came from then‑Vice President Joe Biden. Together — $1300.

In this case the American side essentially did what is often not done in Ukraine with presidential gifts: they left a sufficiently clear documentary trail. Donors, items and their values are known.

And then the Ukrainian part of the story begins. Journalists tried to find out where those gifts are now. The presidential administration provided journalists with a list of gifts received by Poroshenko. But neither Obama’s platter nor Biden’s sculpture were on that list.

Even more interesting: the head of the Presidents Fund then reported that those two items were not in the Fund.

Journalists also directly contacted Poroshenko. They received no reply.

What about the “golden tank”?

There is another story around gifts to Poroshenko that sounds great as a headline but becomes less shiny after verification.

It concerns the famous “golden tank.”

For years the media wrote that the Lviv Armored Plant allegedly presented Poroshenko with a golden model tank. However, open sources do not provide reliable confirmation either that the tank was actually gold or that it was given by the Lviv Armored Plant.

Instead, there is confirmed information about a model tank gifted to Petro Poroshenko by Alexander Lukashenko. Such an item was mentioned among the Fund’s exhibits.

The material of the model, its weight and value are not stated in available sources.

So the “golden tank” is better left in the category of beautiful presidential legends until the Fund or the maker confirms the details. The model from Lukashenko is less sensational but a much more reliable journalistic fact.

Zelensky and the gift that cost nearly 2500 euros

Volodymyr Zelensky also has a gift with a very specific price.

On 26 November 2019, during a visit to Estonia, President Kersti Kaljulaid presented the Ukrainian president an Ampler Stout electric bicycle.

Its price at the time was €2490.

There was a special inscription on the frame: “To the President of Ukraine Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky.” And here the diplomatic gift gained another layer of symbolism: the electric bicycle alluded to Zelensky’s image as the president in the series Servant of the People, where his character moved around by bicycle.

Thus the gift was at once an expensive item, a diplomatic gesture, and a small joke about the presidential image.

Technically, it was a serious city e‑bike: aluminum frame, LG battery with 336 Wh, motor power 250 W, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes. The claimed range depending on mode and conditions was roughly from 45 to 100 kilometers.

But again the most interesting part is not how many gears the bike has.

It is not publicly traceable what happened to it after the presentation.

There is no open Fund inventory number, museum description or confirmation of its transfer to the state collection. Likewise, open materials did not find unambiguous confirmation of its separate declaration.

So we know which bike, who gave it, when, where and how much it cost. The next chapter of its biography is much murkier.

The pistol from Petr Pavel — a gift hard to call just a souvenir

An even more interesting story happened in 2023.

On 28 April, Czech President Petr Pavel, during a visit to Kyiv, presented Volodymyr Zelensky with a special CZ 75 with serial number 22.

This is not an ordinary serial pistol from a store. It is a commemorative series created for the 100‑anniversary of the Czech Order of the White Lion — the highest state honor of the Czech Republic.

The manufacturer Colt CZ Group separately confirmed that the weapon was indeed a state gift.

The pistol has hand engraving, an image of a lion and gold decorative elements. Its serial number is RBL‑022.

And here the presidential gift ceases to be just a pretty diplomatic trinket.

This is a weapon, and therefore its history has another dimension — a legal one. Open sources contain no information about the registration of this particular specimen in Ukraine, its subsequent place of storage, transfer to the Presidents Fund or any other public record.

At the same time there is no basis to call it Zelensky’s personal combat weapon. The gift itself was symbolic and state‑level.

But that is precisely why a perfectly reasonable journalistic question arises: where is now a state gift that is a weapon? There is no open answer to it.

From Pokémon to Shakespeare

Zelensky’s collection of gifts generally looks as if someone decided to test how many different genres the presidential protocol can contain.

Among the gifts were an Hermès tie from then‑President of the European Council Donald Tusk, a porcelain Pokémon figurine from Jack Ma, the e‑bike from the Estonian president, editions of Shakespeare’s works, a bowl from Joe Biden, a tray from Antony Blinken, a paperweight in the form of eagles from the U.S. Congress, a ceramic amphora from Israeli President Isaac Herzog and a hussar statuette from the President of Hungary.

According to media‑published data, by the end of 2019 Zelensky had received 181 gifts, and during 2020 he received another 12. By November 2021, the total number, according to published data, reached 285.

So this is not a handful of pretty things sitting somewhere in the president’s office. It is a huge array of items.

And among them are things that can be priced, items with historical value, and things whose material price is not the main point.

When a gift is worth more than its price

Separate from monetary value is the story of gifts that Ukrainian presidents received from servicemen or gave to foreign leaders.

In 2025 Zelensky handed Donald Trump a golf club that junior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Kostyantyn Kartavtsev had given him. The serviceman lost a leg in the early months of the full‑scale invasion, and golf became part of his physical and emotional rehabilitation.

The club bore the engraving “Together we will achieve peace.”

Its market price is unknown. But this is a case when you can call the gift “valuable” even without a price tag.

Trump accepted the club and recorded a video thanking the Ukrainian serviceman.

In response Zelensky received symbolic keys to the White House from Trump.

These are not real keys you could use to open the Oval Office at three in the morning. In protocol tradition such a gesture means the person is a welcome guest of the residence.

Sometimes a presidential gift truly has no price. At least not one you can write in the “value” field.

Presidential gifts as a diplomatic language

This is evident with earlier presidents as well.

Viktor Yushchenko often presented foreign guests with items bearing Ukrainian symbolism. Angela Merkel, for example, received an embroidered beadwork vyshyvanka from him.

Leonid Kuchma once gave Vladimir Putin a bottle of vintage port “Massandra” bottled in the year of the Russian president’s birth.

In this genre the price of the bottle is not the only important thing. The intent matters: to find an item that has a personal connection to the recipient and turn it into a diplomatic gesture.

The same happens with Zelensky’s modern gifts.

He gave Pope Francis a painting about Ukrainian children killed in the war and an icon of the Mother of God painted on remnants of a bulletproof vest. For the new Pope Leo XIV, in 2025 Zelensky presented the icon “Mother of God with Child.”

Such items may cost far less than a luxury accessory or electronics. But their symbolic diplomatic value can be much greater.

And yet: where are the gifts?

This is where the history of presidential gifts becomes more interesting than a usual list of “who got what.”

The Ukrainian state has an institution that should store these items. There is the Presidents of Ukraine Fund. There is the protocol service. There are rules for acceptance, accounting and transfer. There are anti‑corruption restrictions on gifts.

But there is no simple open catalog where any citizen could find:

date – donor – item – value – inventory number – storage location – exhibition status.

It is precisely such a catalog that is most lacking.

As a result, Obama’s platter for Poroshenko has a known price but an unknown public fate. Kuchma’s gigantic rug exists, but the exact history of its presentation and its price remain unknown. Zelensky’s bicycle has a model and a price, but there is no public confirmation of its subsequent transfer to the Fund. The pistol from Petr Pavel has a serial number and official status as a state gift, but there is no open information about its further accounting.

The absence of an item in an open catalog is not proof of appropriation, theft or lawbreaking. Documents are needed for such conclusions.

But when it comes to property received by the head of state while performing official duties, the question “where is it now?” is entirely legitimate.

Especially when it concerns items worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, items of historical value, or items that are weapons.

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