Former First Lady of Ukraine With Deep Chicago Ties Confident of Vict…

Former First Lady of Ukraine Kateryna Yushchenko said her country is confident it will prevail in its bloody war with Russia.

“Our country is united as never before,” said Yushchenko in an interview with WTTW News. “For generations we have fought for our freedom and independence. We feel this is our last stand and we will win.”

Yushchenko, the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1950s, was born in Chicago and lived much of her early life in Humboldt Park before moving to Mount Prospect.

After earning an MBA in international economics from the University of Chicago, Yushchenko had an impressive career in public service.

She worked at the U.S. State Department as a special assistant to the assistant secretary for human rights and humanitarian affairs, the White House as a public liaison during the Ronald Reagan administration, and at the Treasury when George H.W. Bush was president.

But in 1991, Yushchenko moved to Ukraine just before the country’s…