As Russia threatens its neighbor Ukraine, how are Ukrainians reacting?

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As Russia threatens its neighbor Ukraine, how are Ukrainians reacting?

Transcript¹

While Russia, the U.S. and NATO allies talk about the future of Ukraine this week, Ukrainians contemplate² the threat of further Russian invasion, and whether the West will have their backs.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So how does all this look and feel from Ukraine?

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley is in the capital city, Kiev.

Eleanor, good morning.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE³: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: Before we get to what Ukrainians are making of all this, what are officials there telling you about these meetings and this standoff?

BEARDSLEY: Well, you know, Ukrainians keep saying no decisions about Ukraine's future without Ukraine. But this being said, the country's foreign minister says Ukraine remains⁴ united with the U.S. to continue to pursue diplomacy⁵ to get, you know, the Russians to pull back. And he says they've shown that they're not going to negotiate about European security guarantees until Moscow withdraws the troops. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a summit between Kiev, Moscow, Paris and Berlin to try to put an end to this conflict in the East. What's really clear, Rachel, is that the Ukrainians need the support from the West - the U.S., Canada, Europe. People here say it's very important not only materially but also psychologically in the face of what they call their very aggressive neighbor.

MARTIN: So you're Ukrainian. You've got 100,000 Russian troops on your border. Russia has already invaded once. Are people fearful? What are they telling you?

BEARDSLEY: Well, it's really interesting, Rachel. You know, people are aware of what's going on. You know, there are Ukrainian soldiers killed every week fighting these Russian separatists who are proxies⁶ in the east of the country. But, you know, they're used to this intense friction⁷ with Russia, and they're pretty stoic⁸ about it. Remember, this conflict's been grinding on for eight years. And in Kiev, the western capital, which is pretty far from the eastern front, it feels kind of like an open sore.

I spoke⁹ with one Kiev resident. His name is Artyom Klyuchnikov. He's the father of four. And he summed it up pretty well, I thought. He says people here suffer from what he called a kind of split personality. And he opened the newspaper to give me an example of that. Here he is.

ARTYOM KLYUCHNIKOV: In one article, like, I can read, OK, these are the bomb shelters. There's a map created where you can look up the nearest bomb shelter to you. And the next article will be, what are the Christmas festivities you can attend this weekend? So, I mean, these two worlds - they coexist together - this looming¹⁰ threat, which we believe is there - and sometimes it's very stressful when you read too much of that stuff. And at the same time, the life continues as if nothing is happening.

BEARDSLEY: And he told me, you know, maybe that's a good thing because it allows people to keep their sanity¹¹. And you know what?

MARTIN: Right.

BEARDSLEY: It's the Christmas season here. Orthodox Christmas was January 7. And I was out at Kiev's big Christmas market last week, where there were families and eating and drinking. And here's what it sounded like. The mood was festive¹².

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing in Ukrainian).

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Speaking Ukrainian).

MARTIN: Wow. So I mean, they've got to compartmentalize, right? You have to be able to celebrate Christmas. All the while...

BEARDSLEY: Yes.

MARTIN: ...This looming threat is in the back of their mind. I mean, how likely do Ukrainians actually think an invasion is?

BEARDSLEY: Most people don't think that, you know, Russia's going to invade. What, and come all the way to Kiev? No, they don't think so. They think that Putin just wants to keep Ukraine mired¹³ in chaos¹⁴ and unstable¹⁵. And I spoke with a retired¹⁶ Ukrainian general yesterday, and he told me that what Russia fears the most - it's not NATO Rachel - but it's a democratic and human rights-respecting Ukraine - because, he said, that would then force Putin to explain to his people why their so-called Slav brothers are living so much better than, you know, the Russians are, and without the natural resources to boot. So he said Putin wants to avoid that at all costs.

This being said, Rachel, people don't put anything past Putin. And there are actually military training activities for civilians¹⁷ here on the weekends in case there is an invasion. And I'm actually going to go to one on Saturday, and I'll be able to tell you more about that next week.

MARTIN: NPR's Eleanor Beardsley from Kiev - thank you.

BEARDSLEY: Thank you, Rachel.

(SOUNDBITE OF PENSEES' "KARINE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

6 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

7 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

8 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

11 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

12 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

13 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

15 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。