Tymofiy Mylovanov Profile picture
Nov 27, 2022 17 tweets 6 min read Read on X
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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/ Image
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!!!

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More from @Mylovanov

Jan 21
Putin on Greenland: It does us concern at all what is hapenning there. But we have experience resolving such issues with the US.

In the 19th century, Russia sold Alaska to the US for $7.2 million. Greenland would cost about $200–250 million. 1/
Putin: We could send $1 billion Trump's "Board of Peace” from assets frozen in US under previous administration.

We should use the remaining frozen assets to rebuild territories after Russia and Ukraine sign a peace treaty. 2/
Putin: Denmark has long treated Greenland as a colony, often harshly. But that is a separate issue and not relevant now.

Denmark has experience selling territory to the US. In 1917, it sold the Virgin Islands to the US. 3X
Read 4 tweets
Jan 21
Kellogg: Putin does not want to become Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.

He has sacrificed Russia so much and caused so much pain that he is trying to find a way out. He knows he will not win this war in Ukraine. 1/
Kellogg: Russia is not winning this war.

Putin’s definition of winning is different from mine. He measures progress in meters, not miles. Russia is not in Odesa, not in Kyiv, and has not really moved beyond the Donbas. 2/
Kellogg: This is a harsh winter, especially in Kyiv.

I understand the temperatures and the conditions on the ground. But if Ukraine gets through January and February and reaches March and April, the advantage shifts to Ukraine, not Russia. 3/
Read 6 tweets
Jan 21
For 67 days, Yehor “Kahor” Verbytskyi defended Donetsk Airport — one of the most brutal battlefields of the war.

Across 11 kilometers of a destroyed airport, there were only 128 Ukrainian volunteers holding the line against tanks, mortars, and constant assaults — Hromadske. 1/ Image
Kahor: I do not call myself a Cyborg. I was at the airport, yes. I helped it hold out longer. But I was simply doing my job. It was simple — stay alert and shoot. 2/
In May 2014, 26-year-old Yehor Verbytskyi flew to Donetsk Airport as part of a mortar battery. It was his first flight ever — and it took him straight into war.

He learned he would defend the airport only after landing. At the time, he believed they would not make it out alive. 3/
Read 8 tweets
Jan 21
Veronika Melkozerova, Politico’s correspondent wrote about her survival guide to the Kremlin’s winter of terror in Kyiv. Russian attack came in the harshest winter since Feb 2022: drones destroyed power and heating systems, freezing temperatures make damage impossible to fix. 1/ Image
Without electricity for 12 hours a day, the fridge is no longer any use. But it’s a stable minus 10 degrees Celsius on the balcony, so I store my food there. Russia’s latest attack disrupted heating for 5,600 residential buildings in Kyiv, including mine. 2/
At times the temperature drops to -20C and the frost permeates my apartment, its crystals covering the windows and invading the walls. My daily routine now includes walking up and down from the 14th floor of my apartment, carrying liters of water, mostly to my grandmother. 3/
Read 8 tweets
Jan 21
AI-powered air defense could counter Moscow’s greatest advantage — mass missile attacks, writes David Ignatius in WP.

Since 2022, Ukraine’s defense manufacturing grew from $1B to $35B. In 2025 alone, it approved 1,300+ new domestic weapons. 1/ Image
Russia’s strategy is physical and simple: bomb power plants, cut heat, freeze cities, and force surrender.

In January, Kyiv faced temperatures below −12°C while Russian strikes damaged electricity and heating infrastructure across the country. 2/
Ukraine’s response is technological.

Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov: Ukraine will deploy a new generation of AI-powered air-defense interceptors that can operate autonomously across the entire country. 3/
Read 9 tweets
Jan 21
Serhii Plokhy: The war in Ukraine may become a catalyst for Russia’s collapse.

The Harvard historian in United24 argues that Russia’s attempt to preserve its empire through war follows a historical pattern that usually ends in exhaustion and disintegration. 1/ Image
Empires rarely collapse overnight. They erode under pressure, miscalculation, and prolonged conflict. In the 20th century, the biggest imperial collapses followed World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

War speeds up every internal weakness. 2/
Russia still fits the imperial model. It controls vast territory, rules a multiethnic population, concentrates power in Moscow, and allows little real self-government.

These features create constant strain, which war multiplies rather than resolves. 3/
Read 11 tweets

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