Once 'the littlest defector' from communism, Des Plaines man wants U.S. to do more for Ukraine

Forty-two years after his fight for freedom from communism made him the Chicago area's most famous preteen, Ukrainian-born Des Plaines resident Walter Polovchak is angry about the war ravaging the land of his birth.

He wants the U.S. and other nations to do more, like sending weapons and other material that could help Ukrainian troops defeat their Russian invaders.

But because Ukraine isn't part of NATO, Polovchak said, the U.S. is standing by like firefighters watching a house that isn't in their jurisdiction burn.

“It's disheartening to watch Ukraine struggle and fight this on their own,” said Polovchak, 54. “Give us the right equipment and we'll take care of those Russians.”

Polovchak gained international attention in 1980 when, as a 12-year-old living in Chicago with his parents and two siblings, he sought asylum rather than returning to what was then the Soviet Union with his family.

Dubbed “the littlest defector,” young Polovchak won his freedom in the ensuing legal skirmish, as did his older sister, Nataly, who now lives in Champaign.

Polovchak, who became a U.S. citizen after he turned 18, has lived in the Chicago area since then, mostly in Des Plaines. He's married and has two sons, both young adults.

Polovchak was thrilled when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved into independent nations in 1991. It allowed him to return to Ukraine to see his parents, an older brother and a sister born after his family went home.

Despite fears of Soviet-style retribution, Polovchak took his wife, Margaret, on that first trip in 1993 and began rebuilding a relationship with his family.

“I've been blessed with the opportunity to go back to Ukraine 14 times,” he said.

But now there's war - or, more accurately, the escalation of a war that began eight years ago when Russia annexed Crimea.

Like most of the world, Polovchak lays the blame for the deadly, destructive conflict at the feet of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He accuses Putin of trying to rebuild the former Soviet Union.

“Ukraine is not a country that invades other countries,” Polovchak said. “It doesn't start wars with other countries.”

Polovchak's parents have died and his brother, Mike, now is a U.S. citizen living in Des Plaines. But their younger sister, Julia, still lives in Ukraine, along with many cousins and other relatives.

Most are in western Ukraine, far from the combat occurring in the east. Polovchak said he speaks with his family daily.

“They're all OK,” he said.

None plans to join the flood of refugees fleeing Ukraine. Many have only known post-Soviet freedom and don't want to give it up.

“They're all ready to defend the country,” Polovchak said. “Nobody's leaving.”