Russia's military is now encircling several Ukrainian cities

 

Russia's military is now encircling several Ukrainian cities

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to retired² Admiral James Foggo, who commanded U.S. Naval³ forces for Europe and Africa, about what Russian forces have been doing, and what their next moves might be.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Russia continues its advance on several Ukrainian cities this morning. The capital, Kyiv, is still in Ukrainian hands, but Russian forces have made gains on much of the country's southern coast. Speaking yesterday on CBS News, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the West is doing all it can to help Ukraine, including supporting Poland so that that country can send fighter jets to Ukraine.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FACE THE NATION")

ANTONY BLINKEN: That gets a green light. In fact, we're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians.

MARTIN: Retired Admiral James Foggo was commander of U.S. Naval Forces for Europe and Africa and a NATO commander based in Italy, and he joins us this morning. Admiral, thanks for being here.

JAMES FOGGO: Good morning, Rachel. Thank you for inviting⁴ me.

MARTIN: We hear there Ukraine's been asking for more air power. Do you think these fighter jets that could come from Poland would make a real difference?

FOGGO: I do, Rachel. These are probably the MiG-29 or the Sukhoi version of Soviet-era fighter jets. But the bottom line is the Ukrainian pilots know how to fly them, and I think they proved themselves to be very proficient⁵ to this date. They've had some attrition in their ranks because they've been subject to the attacks by the Russian Air Force on their air bases. And so I think this will help tremendously in the fight.

MARTIN: Every action that the U.S. and NATO takes, though, has to be so carefully crafted to anticipate Putin's response. I mean, are you worried how Putin would interpret and react if a NATO member sends fighter jets to Ukraine?

FOGGO: Well, yes, I think everybody's worried about that. And the biggest concern in the last few days was President Zelenskyy's request for a no-fly zone. Everybody was worried about that because, first of all, Putin said that a no-fly zone would be an act of war. You know, I know a little bit about no-fly zones, having participated in one down in the Libya campaign, and there's two aspects to it. One, you just can't establish it and say it's in effect. You have to go in and take out any enemy air defenses that could possibly threaten NATO or U.S. or, you know, Ukrainian aircraft. That's one. So you're going to put a missile on top of a Russian launcher and kill Russians. No. 2 is you're going to take out enemy aircraft in the sky. And again, that could be NATO, U.S. or Ukrainians downing Russian aircraft. That would lead to provocation⁷ and altercation⁸ between NATO and the United States and Russia that would lead to World War III.

In this case, I think replenishing the ranks with equal equipment is fair game. Certainly, the Russians have upped the ante by bringing in mercenaries and by bringing in other countries, like Belarus. They're currently operating from there. So I do not see this as something that would lead to an escalation⁹ in terms of World War III.

MARTIN: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has also warned that Russian forces are planning to bomb major defense⁶ industry production sites, and many of these are in heavily populated areas. They're not just out there in the hinterlands. At this point, does it surprise you that Russia seems to be targeting areas regardless of potential civilian¹⁰ casualties? I mean, in some instances, we're seeing reports that civilians¹¹ who are trying to flee are actually being targeted directly.

FOGGO: Well, I think it should surprise me, but it does not. The Russians are ruthless. They have been that way for a very long time as part of their history. They certainly took a beating in World War II and gave it back to Germany as they invaded. And those lessons learned have come forward today. They have no due regard for collateral¹² damage. That's a big difference between them and us. We operate our armies, air forces and navies in the field with ethics¹³ and with an eye on morality. They do not. They are bombing civilian areas and large cities and small towns, destroying houses, hospitals, museums, schools. They've killed kids. They're killing¹⁴ civilians, and they're killing grandmothers and grandfathers. And they're not allowing for a humanitarian¹⁵ evacuation. This is egregious¹⁶, and it constitutes war crimes.

MARTIN: So where does this go, then? You're talking about this asymmetry¹⁷. If Russia is behaving, as you just described, as a terrorist organization in some respects, not playing by the Geneva Conventions, the rules of war, how does the U.S. and NATO calculate responses?

FOGGO: Well, we have two major objectives in the U.S. and NATO right now. One is support the Ukrainian people in the defense of their territory and, two, support NATO allies and partners and reinforce the Eastern Bank. So by supporting the Ukrainian people, you've seen an incredible flow of lethal¹⁸ arms. Just last week, the president signed in a $350 billion package. Seventy percent of that stuff has already moved directly from the United States into Ukraine. We've never seen it that fast before. The Javelins¹⁹, the Stingers, the ammunition²⁰ - they're fighting with that. And so they've got to continue to attrit Russian forces to the point that Russian forces can no longer make these attacks on cities, either with ground forces and tanks and armored personnel carriers or missiles. The Ukrainians have got to hold out.

MARTIN: We have just a couple seconds. Russia now has the city of Mariupol in the south, the port city. Do you expect a sea landing or an attack on Odesa?

FOGGO: President Zelenskyy has warned everybody this will happen. The Russians are perfectly²¹ postured²² to do so with six amphibious assault ships and support ships in the Black Sea. If they go ashore²³, those ships will put tanks, troops, armor, artillery²⁴ ashore. But then they're going to move on to major objectives, which is the cities. So I see a fight coming, but I see the Ukrainians defending Odesa.

MARTIN: Retired Admiral James Foggo commanded U.S. naval forces for Europe and Africa. Thank you.

FOGGO: Thank you, 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 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。

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 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

6 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。

7 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

8 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

9 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 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。

12 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

13 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

14 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。

15 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。

16 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

17 asymmetry   

n.不对称；adj.不对称的，不对等的

参考例句：

• These bands must introduce longitudinal asymmetry in the planetary albedo.这些云带必定引起行星反照率的经向不对称性。
• In any event the asymmetry is clear enough.总之，不对称是非常明显的。

18 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

19 javelins   

n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. 在正面交火之前，庞大的兵团会整体向前移动并投掷标枪。 来自互联网
• Elite mercenaries, originally from Aragon, armed with javelins and light armour. 加泰罗尼亚标枪兵为精锐雇佣部队，最初来自阿拉贡，装备标枪和轻甲。 来自互联网

20 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

21 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

22 postured   

做出某种姿势( posture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She postured before the camera. 她在相机前摆出做作的姿势。
• The painter postured his model. 画家使模特儿摆姿势。

23 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

24 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。