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

Oct 12
Trump administration helps Ukraine to attack Russia.

For months, Washington has shared intelligence for long-range strikes on Russian energy sites. - FT

Data on routes, altitude, and weak points helped Ukraine hit 16 of Russia’s 38 refineries, cutting over 1M barrels a day. 1/ Image
The strikes, part of Ukraine’s DeepStrike campaign, have forced Moscow to curtail diesel exports and import fuel from Belarus and China.

Russia has lost about 20% of its refining capacity. 2/
U.S. intelligence input covers planning, timing, and target vulnerability, enabling Ukraine’s drones to evade Russian air defense.

Sources say the cooperation has intensified since midsummer. 3/
Read 5 tweets
Oct 11
Ukrainian marines fight like “phantoms in the night” on the Dnipro delta — striking Russian bridgeheads and vanishing before dawn.

Their mission is to stop Russian troops from crossing the river into Kherson, writes The Times. 1/ Image
The 1st Battalion of the 40th Coastal Defence Brigade operates in the floodplains of the Dnipro River.

They raid islands at night, in silence, to prevent Russia from building bases for future attacks.

Each operation is small — 4 to 6 men per team. 2/
Major “Bars,” 28, trained in Britain, commands the battalion’s staff.

“The enemy increases its presence every day. They bring antennas, generators, build infrastructure. We have to destroy all that.” 3/ Image
Read 10 tweets
Oct 11
Zelenskyy: Winter is coming.

Russia will keep striking our energy system — Ukraine can’t face it alone.

2 Patriot systems are coming this fall.

Last night, 80% of enemy drones and missiles were shot down. [but unfortunately it isn’t enough]

1/
Zelenskyy: When Russia fails on the battlefield, it turns to terror — destroying power plants, water systems, and critical infrastructure.

We warned our partners: when Moscow can’t win militarily, it targets civilians and energy.

That’s what’s happening now.
2/
Zelenskyy: Ukraine defends not just itself — we hold the front line for Europe. Every intercepted missile protects lives beyond our borders.

Partners: act more, speak less. Words don’t stop drones;

Patriots, interceptors and real cooperation do. 3/
Read 7 tweets
Oct 11
Britain, France, and Germany move closer to giving Russian assets to Ukraine.

“We are ready to progress towards using the value of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces.” — Starmer, Macron, and Merz in a joint statement. 1/ Image
“And thus bring Russia to the negotiation table. We aim to do this in close cooperation with the United States of America.” 2/
“We agree to develop further bold and innovative mechanisms to increase the cost of Russia’s war and ramp up pressure.

This includes driving forward action on the Russian shadow fleet.” 3/
Read 5 tweets
Oct 11
Russian commanders torture conscripts until they agree to fight in Ukraine and kill or jail those who refuse.

Thousands shoot themselves, bribe doctors, or flee abroad to escape the front. Leaked data show 50,000 deserters since 2022 — Moscow Times. 1/ Image
In 2024, officers conscripted 19-year-old Nikita Zvezdov from Khabarovsk.

Commanders locked men in boot dryers, beat them with rifle butts, and forced them to run 50 laps in gas masks and hazmat suits. One recruit collapsed and died during punishment drills. 2/
Zvezdov said officers shot recruits with rubber bullets “for training.”

After weeks of torture, he signed a contract and was sent to the Bikinsky range to dig latrines and burn trash in 40°C heat while awaiting orders to Mariupol. “I knew I’d die there,” he said. 3/
Read 9 tweets
Oct 11
Russian blocking detachments shoot Russian soldiers retreating from combat positions, but they are also shot.

“Many of the soldiers refuse to follow orders and leave their positions on their own because they're scared of dying.” — Russian soldier Ivan.

From Russian Telegram channel. 1/
His wife shared the story of how her husband was killed.

Ivan had spent 2 days evacuating a severely wounded comrade from the front line.

When he returned to his unit, the deputy commander ordered him to go on another combat mission. 2/
Exhausted, Ivan refused and lay down to sleep. He was immediately declared to have deserted his post.

Later, he was again ordered to deploy with a group tasked with “controlling the soldiers” and preventing them from fleeing their positions. 3/
Read 7 tweets

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