美国国家公共电台 NPR--Zelenskyy leaves Ukraine for an unexpected and high-profile visit to the U.S.

Zelenskyy leaves Ukraine for an unexpected and high-profile visit to the U.S.

Transcript¹

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House and address Congress — in a trip aimed at underscoring U.S. support for the country in its war with Russia.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It's been 300 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. And today, for the first time since then, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is leaving his country.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

For an unexpected and very high-profile visit to Washington aimed at sending a message of defiance² to Moscow and showing ongoing³ support for the billions of dollars of aid that the United States is sending to Kyiv.

FADEL: Joining us now is White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Hi, Asma.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁴: Hi there.

FADEL: So first trip Zelenskyy's made outside Ukraine since the war started. What's the message he's sending with this visit, and why now?

KHALID: Well, in terms of why it's happening right now, there's both a global and a domestic audience. The idea here is to show that Ukraine is doing well in the war despite the recent brutal⁵ Russian bombardments that have knocked out power. And what this White House has been saying for, you know, ages at this point is that the U.S. is willing to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. But I will say, Leila, this visit also comes at a very critical moment here in Washington. Congress is wrapping up work on a big spending bill that includes new military and economic aid for Ukraine, roughly $45 billion. This is on top of the billions of dollars the U.S. has already given Ukraine.

And, you know, there has been some signs of growing fatigue⁶ among the American public in certain polls. For example, a Wall Street Journal survey done just before the midterm elections found that 30% of respondents thought the U.S. was doing too much to help Ukraine. And most of that sentiment was coming from Republican respondents. And back in October, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy said his party would not write a, quote, "blank check" for Ukraine. That all being said, the White House has been insisting that there is broad bipartisan support for continuing to aid Ukraine.

FADEL: So, in part, this visit to make sure that support continues. But it's not easy to leave Ukraine and get to D.C. What kind of security arrangements were made for President Zelenskyy to leave the country in the midst of war?

KHALID: Well, this trip came together pretty quickly. A senior administration official told reporters last night that President Biden and President Zelenskyy first talked about this idea of a visit about 10 days ago. I asked about the risk assessment⁷ in Zelenskyy coming to the U.S. right now, and this administration official told me that they consulted closely with Zelenskyy on the security parameters⁸. But ultimately, this was his decision to make. Zelenskyy has visited some dangerous areas on the front lines of the war. Although I would note that, you know, most of those visits were generally kept secret until after he had left the front lines. This visit is far from secret.

FADEL: So what's the day going to look like? What should we expect to see and hear from Zelenskyy?

KHALID: He's going to spend just a, quote, "few short hours" on the ground from the afternoon into the evening. This trip comes at Biden's invitation, and Zelenskyy will begin his visit at the White House. He'll have what the official told us will be an in-depth, strategic discussion with President Biden about sanctions on Russia, humanitarian⁹ aid, as well as military aid and training. The two leaders will then hold a joint¹⁰ press conference. And then later, Zelenskyy will deliver an address to Congress, something that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told members would be a special focus on democracy.

FADEL: And before I let you go, any new details about the kind of aid, the continued help you mentioned earlier that Washington is giving Ukraine?

KHALID: Well, President Biden does plan to announce today that the U.S. will send Ukraine a Patriot¹¹ missile battery. This is something that Ukrainians had been asking for in defending itself against Russian missiles. The U.S. plans to train Ukraine on how to use this equipment, not within the country of Ukraine but in a third country.

FADEL: NPR's Asma Khalid, thanks as always.

KHALID: My pleasure.

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 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。