Russian military blasts are felt in the Ukrainian strategic port city of Odesa

Russian military blasts are felt in the Ukrainian strategic port city of Odesa

Transcript¹

Shelling can be heard across parts of Ukraine as Russia has begun its military action. In Odesa, Ukrainian's are packing up and leaving to seek shelter elsewhere.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Russia has invaded Ukraine. Ukraine's president says Ukrainian troops are currently fighting Russian forces that are trying to capture the former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl. Russia tanks have also rolled into the country from Belarus. And in many cities across Ukraine, residents woke to the sounds of shelling and air raid sirens. Missile strikes were reported in the capital city of Kyiv, as well as in other cities near the Russian border and in the southern port city of Odesa. That is where NPR's Frank Langfitt has been reporting for the last couple of days.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Walk us through what happened this morning in Odesa.

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE²: Yeah. I mean, just after President Putin declared war - about 5 o'clock local time - and 10 minutes later, we started (inaudible) explosions, which shook the hotel. These were clearly missile strikes. And it's no surprise because Odesa - it's a strategic port. There's a naval³ base in Odesa, and this is what it sounded like.

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)

LANGFITT: And then jets were roaring overhead. You can hear those.

(SOUNDBITE OF JETS FLYING)

LANGFITT: And then, Rachel, just more missile strikes. Now, most people in the hotel where I was staying - some of them actually slept through this, remarkably⁴. But there's a father I ran into in the hallways. His name is Constantine (ph). He's a lawyer. He was trying to get his family out. And this is what he said as we stood, before dawn, and he was there packing his vehicle.

CONSTANTINE: I am scared.

LANGFITT: Yeah.

CONSTANTINE: I am very scared. I am scared for my baby. And the people don't know what do.

LANGFITT: And so, as he was saying there, people don't know what to do. He headed up north, as did we, out of the city because of the airstrikes. And he's going to be driving hundreds of miles today, west to the city of Lviv, which is near the Polish border, and then be able to settle in there, a place much safer.

MARTIN: What do we know about the damage so far?

LANGFITT: I think it's considerable. But I think what's really striking is the Russian military has come in from three different directions. It is pushing into the Kyiv region, according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry⁵. So it's rolling along, apparently⁶. In the Odesa region, there's a strike on a military base. They killed 18 people, according to the regional (inaudible) there. And there were also additional missile strikes in other strategic ports - Mykolaiv and Kherson - both of them in the Black Sea area.

MARTIN: I mean, Ukrainians have been living under the threat of this for so long now. Even so, it must be a shock.

LANGFITT: I think it was. I mean, it was really striking last night in Odesa, as I was - it was lovely, quiet night, and I went out to dinner and wanted to stroll around, but I was tired and headed back. But it was just a normal night in Odesa, and it is like flipping⁷ a switch when this happens. And so a lot of people didn't think it would, even though there have been lots of threats. And so as we made our way north, we just saw more and more people driving north - long lines at gas stations. I was in a gas station trying to get some food and ran into a guy named Sergey (ph), who had jumped on his motorcycle and headed north to try to find a place for him to live and his parents. And this is what he said.

SERGEY: So I left my parents behind, but they will be coming after me when - you know, when I settle everything down, when we know where to go.

MARTIN: And you can imagine all different versions of him - you know, people trying to leave. So, Frank...

LANGFITT: Tens of thousands.

MARTIN: Tens of thousands.

LANGFITT: Yeah.

MARTIN: You spent a lot of time in the capital city. What is the sense in political and intelligence circles about Putin's ultimate objective here?

LANGFITT: Well, I think that, you know, Putin has said Russia doesn't want to occupy Ukraine. Of course, he also said for months he didn't want to invade. Either way, it is a huge country - 41 million people. The widespread thought is what he really wants to do here is change the regime or change the politics of the regime, even if it could involve killing⁸ political leaders. And the reason is, Ukraine shares this huge border with Russia. Ukraine has been drifting west towards NATO and the European Union for many years. And people think Putin really wants to stop this and use his army to redraw the geopolitical map of Europe, that after the collapse⁹ of the Soviet¹⁰ Union was very (inaudible) to Russia. And many of these countries, Ukraine among them, have tilted¹¹ away from Russia and towards democratic countries in Europe and, of course, ultimately, the U.S.

MARTIN: NPR's Frank Langfitt reporting from Ukraine near the port city of Odesa. Frank, thank you.

LANGFITT: Good to talk, Rachel.

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 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。

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

4 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。