Tymofiy Mylovanov Profile picture
Jul 8, 2023 21 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Day 500 of the Russian war in Ukraine.

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.

These are the lessons I learned. 1/
1. We owe our survival to unity and ingenuity
2. Empathy holds more power than rationality.
3. Understanding is out of reach without personal experience
4. War can forge you into a better person, tuned into the world's real problems
2/
5. Our Ukrainian success hinges on knowledge and continual learning
6. The harshness and monotony of war quickly become the norm
7. Life's singular purpose is to persist and advance towards victory for Ukraine; all else is secondary.
3/
Let me expand on each of this points.

1. Unity and ingenuity.

Russia was hoping that a politically polarized Ukrainian society won't be able to provide a quick and unified response to the invasion. They expected that Ukrainians will be slow to react. 4/
And surrender its state and government. After all, in the Russia view, people don't have agency. Russian people are no one for the Kremlin, why should Ukrainians be any different.

But we are. The war has shown unprecedented unity, willpower, and innovation by the Ukrainians 5/
2. Empathy holds more power than rationality.

This one is difficult to explain. Because it is irrational. People sacrifice their lives so that others can survive. On the individual level, to a rational person, educated in the West, or living in Russia, it might not make sense 6/
But when you are in the war, you are not doing careful rational calculus. You are often driven by emotions, a much more powerful motivator. In the case of Ukraine, these are primal emotions. Ukraine has been attacked, people are tortured and killed. 7/
This is the biggest injustice there could be in the world, and it must be corrected. This is what drives people. While it might not be rational, it saves Ukraine and it will ensure our independence and safety from Russia in the future. At the unbelievable high cost of lives 8/
Now I understand that it must be how nations are created and that not any tribe or people could be a nation. Independence and freedom are not free. I just wish fewer people would have to die. 9/
3. Understanding is out of reach without personal experience

The war is covered in fog. Literally and through disinformation. Also, most of our cognitive and learning frameworks that we are humans and societies have developed - fail. They are not adequate for this environment.10
So, unless you see and experience it, you don't really know what to believe. This is why it is critically important to visit the front lines, to speak with the soldiers, to interact with the survivors of occupation, and visit all kinds of places in Ukraine. 11/
Ukraine is large and the war is diverse. Sometimes two villages a couple of miles apart have had very different experiences and now have different attitudes and culture. So, I have learned to be humble and try to learn first from eyewitness to form my own opinion. 12/
4. War can forge you into a better person, tuned into the world's real problems

This one is simple. War makes you a better person because it cleans you of all secondary thoughts and ambitions. The human life, dignity, freedom become key for me. 12/
Now I truly understand the meaning of the human rights. They are not an abstraction for me anymore. Yes, they can be taken away. They can disappear from your life without warning. You can wake up occupied. But human rights must be defended at all costs. 13/
5. Our Ukrainian success hinges on knowledge and continual learning

Russia is powerful, bigger, has a lot of weapons and people willing to fight or too afraid to desert.

So, we need to be smarter, better educated, more tech savvy. We have to deploy technology to win. 14/
And we have to be educated to continue to run our society and economy, during and post war. 15/
6. The harshness and monotony of war quickly become the norm

Before the war I was afraid of the war. I was not sure whether I would behave in a decent way. Would I run away from Ukraine? Would I be afraid to be at the frontlines?

Clearly, people are differently programmed 16/
But what I learned about the fear of war is that it also comes from ignorance, from the loss of control over your life. Over time one get used to the war, one learns how to live through. Humans are amazing at adapting. The war shows it to you. 17/
7. Life's singular purpose is to persist and advance towards victory for Ukraine; all else is secondary.

That's for me. And for most Ukrainians. We want to survive. So, while I miss my academic career in the US and regret that I might not be a good economist as a result of 18/
coming back to Ukraine before the war, I think I have made the right choices as a human. I have one life and I want to liver it true. So, Ukraine must win, and the rest can wait.

Thank you for reading this. I feel we are not alone in this. It will be over one day. X
My main purpose in life is to build KSE university! This is especially important during the war. If you want to support KSE, you can do it here

Thank you so much for your solidarity!foundation.kse.ua

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More from @Mylovanov

Jan 23
Ukraine has eased arms exports by launching Defense City to speed up export permits — United24.

The Cabinet approved a simplified procedure for exporting military goods. For Defense City residents, permit review time drops from 90 days to 15 days. 1/ Image
In 2026, the drone manufacturer Vampir became the first official resident of Defense City.

The goal: cut bureaucracy while keeping exports under state control. 2/
Ukraine’s defense production capacity has exploded.

It is projected to grow 35-fold — from $1B in 2022 to $35B by 2025.

The state has factories and production lines, but not enough budget to buy everything they produce. 3/
Read 9 tweets
Jan 23
I told CNN I share Zelenskyy’s sharp criticism of Europe — and I’d expand it to the U.S. too.

This hasn’t just been true today, but throughout the entire war.

1/
Me: Ukraine needs peace — but on what terms? The key issue is territory. Trump and Putin want Ukraine to give up land.

Ukraine needs Europe unified, with funding and military support, to have real leverage. Greenland unity is encouraging, but actions matter more than words.

2/
Me: Would I trust a U.S. security guarantee under Trump? No. It’s not about Trump — it’s about the credibility of U.S. institutions.

Over the entire full-scale invasion, Ukraine learned there were more words than actions.

3/
Read 6 tweets
Jan 23
Serhii Sternenko — the new advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Defense on UAVs.

Serhii Sternenko is 30 years old. He is a volunteer, civic activist, and one of the key public figures behind Ukraine’s wartime drone movement. 1/ Image
Since 2022, Sternenko has worked systematically to supply Ukraine’s Defense Forces with drones.

This is not occasional fundraising. It includes procurement, testing, delivery to combat units, frontline feedback, and public analysis of UAV effectiveness. 2/
During the full-scale war, initiatives linked to Sternenko delivered thousands of drones to dozens of units.

These UAVs now account for a significant share of Russian personnel and equipment losses on the battlefield. 3/
Read 8 tweets
Jan 23
Zelenskyy: By 2030 Russia will have a 2–2.5m army. Ceasefire or not, nobody knows Russia’s goals or if it will come back.

My suggestion to Europe: Russia will test who is strong — have common forces, not less than 3m. Better to have them than use them.

1/
Zelenskyy: I’m not sure Putin wants to end this war. Russia’s economy and army are tired — so is ours.

Around 35,000 Russian soldiers die each month, and losses are growing. We want to stop the war. Trump can talk to Putin. Russia will not win this war.

2/
Zelenskyy: Our team goes to the UAE for trilateral talks with the US and Russia. Two days of discussions.

We’ll see the mood and whether there’s real connection. If all sides work seriously, the war can end. If someone plays games, it will continue.

3/
Read 7 tweets
Jan 22
Zelenskyy: Our teams will meet for the first trilateral talks[Ukraine, U.S., Russia] in the UAE.

The US team goes to Moscow today.

1/
Zelenskyy: We’re building interceptor drones—about 1,000 a day—but it’s not enough.

Russia launches 500 Iranian drones daily plus dozens of missiles. Partner systems help, but they must deliver more.

2/
Zelenskyy: We see this war live—our losses and Russia’s.

Russian losses are the highest ever: about 35,000 killed per month now, up from 14,000 a year ago. Russia sees the numbers and keeps going.

3/
Read 4 tweets
Jan 22
In 1986, the Chornobyl disaster took her husband. In 2025, a Russian drone killed her too.

This is the story of Natalia Khodymchuk, born four kilometers from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

She spent her entire life paying for catastrophes she never chose — Hromadske. 1/ Image
On the night of April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 exploded.

Her husband, Valerii Khodemchuk, a senior main circulation pump operator, became the first victim of the Chornobyl disaster.

His body was never found. Where he stood, there was only a void. 2/
Natalia was left a widow with two children — Larysa and Oleh.

After the evacuation from Pripyat, the family was resettled in Kyiv, in a so-called “Chornobyl building” on Balzaka Street.

They lost their home, a husband, and a father — but kept each other. Natalia held the family together for decades. 3/
Read 8 tweets

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