Steven Moore is hanging out at his favorite Kyiv coffee shop when I call: Idealist Coffee. Over the video call, Moore gives a quick tour of a brightly lit cafe with a clean aesthetic that screams Apple Store. Idealist is packed on this afternoon in early March; it’s very popular with American expats in Kyiv like Moore, even though there’s another coffee shop called Chicago right next door. Still, there are times Moore prefers the less vibrant option.
“Idealist closes during air raids, Chicago does not,” he said. “So that’s a key consideration when choosing a coffee shop.”
Like any old Hill staffer, Moore runs on coffee, especially when the adrenaline from another Russian bombardment wears off. A year ago, when most Americans looked on in horror as Russian tanks streamed across the Ukrainian border in front of CNN cameras, the old chief of staff to former Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., jumped on a plane to Eastern Europe.
