Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a 'dark day,' European leaders say

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a 'dark day,' European leaders say

Transcript¹

Europe is facing a new reality: war on its doorstep. Europeans leaders call Russia's attack a blatant² violation³ of international law, and they say a new set of sanctions are the harshest ever imposed.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There is a ground war on the European continent for the first time since World War II. European leaders met through the day yesterday to come up with a new set of sanctions on Russia that they say are the harshest ever imposed. NPR's Rob Schmitz joins us now from Berlin. Rob, thanks for being here.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁴: Thanks for having me.

MARTIN: It is inconceivable for so many Europeans, as you know, that this is happening on their doorstep. Give us a sense of what EU leaders are saying.

SCHMITZ: Yeah, European leaders have called Russia's attack a blatant violation of international law. Here in Germany, Olaf Scholz said it was a dark day for Europe. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the scale of this attack something that Europeans thought were a thing of the past. Here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JENS STOLTENBERG: The Kremlin's aim is to re-establish its sphere of influence, rip up the global rules that have kept us all safe for decades and subvert⁵ the values that we hold dear. This is the new normal for our security.

SCHMITZ: And Rachel, Stoltenberg announced NATO would step up its readiness plans by beefing up forces on its eastern flank along Ukraine's borders. He also said NATO is activating⁶ powers that would give him more flexibility⁷ to use allied⁸ military resources.

MARTIN: So we hear Stoltenberg talking about a new normal in Europe. Many Europeans, though, were really skeptical⁹ that Vladimir Putin would actually do this, would actually go forward with an attack on Ukraine. Are you sensing some surprise?

SCHMITZ: Absolutely. You know, for weeks, many European defense¹⁰ experts publicly questioned the Biden administration's warnings that Russia was on the verge¹¹ of an attack on Ukraine. Now this has been a - sort of a wake-up call for them. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany's former defense minister under Chancellor¹² Angela Merkel, wrote a candid¹³ tweet yesterday, saying she's angry with herself and her colleagues for what she called our historical failure. She said after Russia attacked Georgia more than a decade ago and then the Crimea and Donbas regions of Ukraine in 2014, that Europe had not done anything to deter¹⁴ Vladimir Putin from doing this again. You sort of get the sense that European leaders are rethinking everything they've done when it comes to dealing¹⁵ with Putin. And of course, much of what Europe could have done is not only in the political and security realm, but also with economic ties and trade.

MARTIN: Right. So those economic ties to Russia - now in jeopardy¹⁶, given that the EU has announced new economic sanctions on Russia last night, right?

SCHMITZ: Yeah, and those still need to be finalized¹⁷, but the EU essentially¹⁸ plans to freeze Russian assets in Europe and prevent Russian banks access to European financial markets. The sanctions will also target Russia's energy and transport sectors¹⁹, attempting to stifle²⁰ trade and manufacturing with export controls. Many of these have been coordinated²¹ with the U.S. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claims these sanctions would cripple Russia's economy. Here's what she said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN: It is President Putin who will have to explain this to his citizens. I know that the Russian people do not want this war.

SCHMITZ: But I should note here that many EU members and observers say these sanctions don't go far enough. One action not taken was to remove Russia from the SWIFT financial network, a move experts say could hit Russia's GDP by 5% or more. Still, these threats from Europe are something, and the EU is Russia's largest trading partner, so Russia's markets tanked yesterday from this news.

MARTIN: But this goes two ways, right? It's not just going to hurt Russia's economy.

SCHMITZ: No, this won't be easy on Europe's economy. The EU's the largest investor²² in Russia and depends on Russia for 40% of its natural gas. Germany's halted the Nord Stream 2 gas line from Russia. That's a start. Germany's economy minister says that rough days are ahead, but that ultimately severing²³ these economic ties is the right decision for the survival of European democracy, even if it leads to economic harm at home.

MARTIN: NPR's Rob Schmitz joining us from Berlin with European reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Rob, thank you.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

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 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

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 subvert   

v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• They tried to subvert our state and our Party. This is the crux of the matter.他们是要颠覆我们的国家，颠覆我们的党，这是问题的实质。

6 activating   

活动的，活性的

参考例句：

• "I didn't say we'd got to stop activating the masses! “我并没说就此不发动！ 来自子夜部分
• Presumably both the very small size and activating influence of fluorine atoms contribute to this exception. 这大概是由于氟原子半径小和活性高这两个原因的影响，氟原子对这种例外做出了贡献。

7 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

8 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

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。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

12 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

13 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

14 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

17 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

21 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

22 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

23 severing   

v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The death of a second parent is like severing an umbilical cord to our past. 父母当中第二个人去世，就象斩断了把我们同过去联在一起的纽带。 来自辞典例句
• The severing theory and severing method for brittle block are studied. 研究裂纹技术应用于分离脆性块体的分离理论和分离方法。 来自互联网