[Correspondent Diary] "We Do Not Want War" The Cry That Colored Times Square

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Seolgina Jo] “As a Russian, I want to say this. We do not want war.” "Putin (Vladimir Putin, President of Russia), stop the war."

Age and nationality did not matter. On the 26th (local time), in Times Square, a landmark in Manhattan, New York, a woman holding yellow and blue balloons symbolizing the Ukrainian flag shouted nonstop, "We stand with Ukraine." A child wearing a wreath made of yellow and blue flowers stood proudly, spreading the Ukrainian flag wider than anyone else. Placards saying "We want peace," "Putin, stop," "Stop the war," and "Sanction (Russia) more" were seen throughout Times Square.

Among those present, Russians were seen as much as Ukrainians. A man who identified himself as Russian while holding a loudspeaker shouted, "I do not want to be ashamed of my homeland," and "Putin, stop the war." Another woman attended the protest wearing a mask with the English phrase, "As a Russian, I say stop the war." They all spoke in unison, "We do not want war. We want peace."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared consecutively on NBC, ABC, and CBS on the afternoon of the 24th and said, "Russia could invade Ukraine as early as tonight," many probably thought, "No way." Nothing happened on February 16, which President Joe Biden had previously warned as a possible invasion date. Moreover, that day was originally agreed to hold a U.S.-Russia foreign ministers' meeting in Europe, assuming no additional Russian military actions (which was later canceled).

But in the end, President Putin launched the war as everyone feared. Since that day, people have voluntarily gathered here in Times Square and around the world, singing the Ukrainian national anthem and raising their voices to "stop the war."

The news on the third day of the invasion is utterly devastating. The U.S. and the West, who drew a line early on against sending troops, are helpless in front of the Russia regime that relies on "force." A senior U.S. Department of Defense official said at a briefing that more than 50% of the Russian troops gathered near the Ukrainian border have entered Ukraine and are currently stationed about 30 km outside Kyiv. Local reports continue to mention explosions heard throughout the capital Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Minister of Health announced that 198 people, including three children, have died and more than 1,000 have been injured. It is unclear whether soldiers are included in these figures. Additionally, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that about 3,500 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded so far.

What are these deaths for, and for whom are these sacrifices made? How many more innocent lives must be sacrificed for the greed of one person? Is there any just cause for this war that is painful even to watch from afar? President Putin’s 55-minute state TV speech seems to have been nothing more than a vile rhetoric to justify his desires, as this invasion has rather proven.

On the 24th, when Russian troops crossing the Ukrainian border radioed the Ukrainian border guards stationed on Snake Island to surrender, the guards’ last words have now become a representative phrase supporting Ukraine. People in Times Square shouted this phrase that day.

"Russian warship, go f*** yourself."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

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