Hundreds gathered in Times Square on the anniversary of the third year of war in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, there have been around 500,000 deaths and injuries and over 10.6 million people who have left the country.

With their blue and yellow flags, posters and megaphones, protestors made sure that on-lookers could hear their message: “stop the war.”

19-year-old Ukrainian Ameri-can Christina Obertos told The Ticker, “We are fighting for simple things: freedom, independence, democracy — and that is what the United States stands on.”

She attended the protest with her twin sister Anna Obertos. The duo was born in the Unit-ed States and moved to Ukraine when they were 3 years old. They lived there for six years before returning to the States.

Feeling connected to their motherland, they created a club at Baruch College – Ukrainian Asso-ciation of Baruch.

The sisters wanted to bring awareness to an issue, as they explained that growing up, many did not even know what Ukraine was — referring to Ukrainians as “the same thing as Russian,” Anna Obertos said.

They explained that all Ukraine wants is to end the war with its people and its land. Despite this, not all share the same sentiment.

32-year-old President Donald Trump supporter and counter-protestor Bellion Martinez explained that Ukrainians need to bend their knees in some areas.

“At this point, Ukraine is not in a position to ask for a lot. He’s [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy] gonna have to concede on some things,” Martinez told The Ticker.

He explained that Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin and Trump need to sit together and figure out a solution.

Martinez also explained his rage toward the Ukrainian President. “I just don’t agree with the fact that Ukraine has stolen so much of our money. They can’t even account [for] half — according to them — half of what we sent.”

This claim was found to be untrue. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has received only about $75 bil-lion in military assistance out of the $175 billion dedicated to Ukrainian aid.

That money was not “missing” or being laundered. It was also not paid directly to the Ukrainian government but is being spent on global humanitarian assistance, U.S. training of Ukrainians, non-military support in Ukraine, intelligence support and more.

Yet not all Americans support the Trump administration when it comes to its plans with Ukraine.

Paul Mailhot, 70-year-old New York City mayoral candidate for the socialist working party, had a stand set up at the protest ready to speak to Ukrainians.

“I have campaigned against the Russian invasion — of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — since the very beginning,” Mailhot said.

He explained how one of the major problems with the United States is being very closed-minded. “Everything is America first,” he said.

But many fear that the entire world will be affected by the war. “This is a worldwide issue,” Christina Obertos said.

Ukrainians also fear what will happen if they lose their biggest ally — the United States.

Christina Obertos said Russia not only stole land over the years, but also their culture.

“Russia steals our history, our culture, even simple things like borscht,” she said.

With the new administration in office, Ukrainians continue to fear the future of their home and promise to use their voices when they can and urge the rest of the world to do the same.

“Use your voice when you still can,” Christina Obertos said