Good evening. Day 5 after the latest Russian attack on Kyiv. Day 277 of the war. I am president of the Kyiv School of Economics, a former minister of economy of Ukraine, and a professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh. I left the US for Kyiv 4 days before the war 1/
and stayed there, with some short trips outside of Ukraine for fundraising. Officially, I am on sabbatical leave from Pittsburgh this year. I guess not many people have field sabbaticals, here the field is a war. I left the US because I must lead the Kyiv School of 2/
Economics through the war. I hold a green card and can leave Ukraine at any moment. But I do not want to and will not do it. Now, back to my day. It was busy and I am tired. Shopping, looking and assembling things. In short, preparing for another likely Russian attack tomorrow 3/
We got our super warm winter hiking clothing out. Many people suggested that we can sleep in a tent in our bedroom. So we dug out sleeping bags and went to buy a tent. 4/
The shops were open and it was Black Friday. Everything on sale. But when we were about to pay, the electricity went off. The shop had a battery and continued to run. They used Xmas lights to save electricity instead of their regular ones. It was very cozy. Here is a pic. 5/
Many people suggested that when the electricity and heating go out, we use candles or gas / kerosine heaters to warm the apartment. We decided against it. First, it is not too safe for novices. Second, none are on the market or we could find. So, we drove to 6/
another store to get at least some wood and coal. The plan is to use an simple and small firewood oven that we can set up on our balcony if all else fails. How do you drive when there is no lights in the city, that is, no traffic lights? Traffic police come out! My respect! 7/
We wanted to try the firewood idea, just to practice, when we get home. But we got exhausted bringing all this stuff to the 8th floor. So, we will try it another time. Will post the picture. Yet, my wife wanted some tea anyway. And also she wanted to get hot water 8/
for the morning. She asked me to start the generator so she can use electric tea pot. I did and discovered another problem. The snow on the balcony has melted. And the generator was sliding towards the windows because of vibration. I need a way to fix it in place, but that’s 9/
for tomorrow. Anyway, the water is boiled and stored in thermoses. We have two, one liter each. Perhaps, we should get more. We can probably order them delivered. Here is a pic of a delivery man on a bike 90 mins before the curfew. 10/
That’s a private service. Public services work too. Here is a tractor shoveling snow on a sidewalk. All pictures taken when we were driving back from a mall. 11/ twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The mall looked normal too except for occasionally blinking light, shortage of products in electrical and heating departments, and occasional assignments by managers to their staff to remember to start generators for the night. There was even a sushi restaurant. A good one. 12/
In the morning, we checked out a center of “nezlamnost”. These are shelters when people can get warm, get some tea, access internet, and power their devices. Here is a Starlinks set up for you :). Very cute! 13/
The center is run by a charity organization “solomenski cats”. Solomenski is the place. Here is their logo. We proposed to them to equip 10 more centers like that and KSE Foundation will match / provide 50% of funding. The rest they should raise themselves 14/
The centers are set up officially at the request / initiative of the president and mayors. There is some funding. For basics. They are set up in hospitals and schools. The problem is that often money is not enough. You should have organizational and procurement capability 15/
This is where we will try to help. Finally, I posted separately about our students spending the last night at the university building (we have one, no dorm). Here are some pics. 16/ twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
We are ready for another attack. Russians often hit on Monday. That’s tomorrow. Every time damages get worse. No water and heat for days. But people are adapting. You can donate to KSE here. Thank you so much for your support!!!
Ukraine could soon run out of missiles to stop Russian drones.
Pentagon slowed deliveries in June, just as Russia launched record airstrikes.
Іf gaps persist, cities and power grids face blackouts and mass deaths. – FT
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After a readiness review of 10 systems, deliveries were paused or curbed: PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, dozens of Stingers, precision 155mm, 100+ Hellfires, and AIM missiles for NASAMS and F-16s. Irregular USAI batch buys leave gaps.
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Russia’s air war is surging: on Sunday it fired 805 Shahed/decoy drones and 13 cruise/ballistic missiles, killing 4.
This summer Russia averaged >5,200 drone launches per month; missiles fell slightly but still in the hundreds.
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Ukrainian Lt. Ovsianikov (49) lost his eye, nose, arm, and most fingers on his left hand when a Russian mortar hit near Borova, Kharkiv in 2023.
Shrapnel tore his face apart. 41 surgeries rebuilt him with titanium and rib grafts. “I am still a soldier”, he says – The Times. 1/
He lay blind and broken, ready to die. “I thought death would be a relief. Then I thought of my mum.”
Through the ringing he heard his men shout: “The commander is 300!” He realised he was alive. 2/
Surgeons rebuilt his skull with titanium, reshaped his nose with a rib, and used €6,000 of implants. He still faces more ops, including a prosthetic eye. 3/
Q: Putin said he will meet you if you come to Moscow.
Zelenskyy: He can come to Kyiv. I can’t go to Moscow when my country is under daily missile attacks. Putin just plays games to delay meetings. We can’t trust him — he even plays games with the US.
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Q: Do you think the possibility for a bilateral meeting is dead?
Zelenskyy: No. I told President Trump I’m ready for any meeting — bilateral or trilateral — but not in Russia. First ceasefire, then talks on security guarantees. I thank the US for joining those guarantees.
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Zelenskyy: We need pressure from the US. President Trump. Some Europeans keep buying Russian oil and gas. That must stop. Energy is Putin’s weapon. The White House has the power to take it away. 3/
Ukrainian photographer Sergey Melnitchenko shows how war changes lives in his project Along the Dnipro.
One of his portraits is Serhii, an Azovstal defender. Russians beat, starved and moved him between prisons. He spent 2 years in captivity and lost 30 kg - Kyiv Independent. 1/
Another portrait is Daria. Russian troops seized her in her village, accused her family of spying and sexually assaulted her.
Now she speaks out in Kyiv, urging other survivors of wartime sexual violence to come forward and seek justice. 2/
On July 8, 2024, Russian missiles destroyed part of Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital.
Melnitchenko photographed rescuers carrying children, injured doctors in bloodied corridors, and wrecked cars outside. The strike killed 33 and injured 121. 3/