NATO is facing pressure to provide more support to Ukraine

NATO is facing pressure to provide more support to Ukraine

　　Transcript¹

　　As President Biden heads to Brussels for a NATO summit this week and the Russians continue to bomb Ukrainian cities, pressure is building on the military alliance to do more.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　President Biden heads to Brussels later this week for a NATO summit. As Russia continues to bomb civilian² targets, pressure is growing on the military alliance to provide more weapons to Ukraine. Meanwhile, another East European nation, Moldova, worries that it could be Russia's next target.

　　NPR's Frank Langfitt has just returned from Brussels and has this report.

　　FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: NATO allies, including the U.S., have been pouring weapons into Ukraine - hundreds of millions of dollars' worth.

　　Juri Luik is Estonia's ambassador to NATO.

　　JURI LUIK: Obviously, the Ukrainian forces wouldn't be so successful if they wouldn't have modern weaponry, particularly the antitank missiles and MANPADS, Stingers.

　　LANGFITT: Can you give me some sense of how much weaponry has gone into Ukraine?

　　LUIK: I can only respond that it's a lot. But we see on the ground now that, really, the famous Russian tanks are extremely vulnerable to Javelins⁵. The Javelin⁴ missile is heavily more useful and economical to take out a tank.

　　LANGFITT: Luik says NATO countries slash⁶ the usual bureaucracy to speed up the process.

　　LUIK: This has all been cast aside. The distance from sending a weapon to reaching the people who use it is really - it's been taken to absolute minimum.

　　LANGFITT: Russia's invasion is now in its fourth week. Remarkably⁷, these arms shipments from NATO allies continue to flow through western Ukraine unimpeded. President Vladimir Putin says they're legitimate⁸ military targets. But there are no reports Russia has yet hit any. Russian missiles did strike a repair facility for MiG fighter jets last week in the western city of Lviv, and earlier, a training base for foreign fighters just miles from the Polish border. Both attacks were seen as warnings to NATO.

　　Roland Freudenstein runs the Brussels office of GLOBESEC, a think tank.

　　ROLAND FREUDENSTEIN: We may have a situation in which Russia actively⁹ tries to interdict¹⁰ arms deliveries inside western Ukraine or even at the Ukrainian-Polish border. And this will produce other debates between the member states. Shall we continue? Shall we find alternative routes, or shall we stop? And I predict there will be countries that say, now is the time to stop.

　　LANGFITT: Despite repeated pleas by the Ukrainians, NATO continues to oppose a no-fly zone.

　　Peter Bator, Slovakia's permanent representative to the alliance, says it would mean more than shooting down Russian jets.

　　PETER BATOR: To enforce no-fly zone also means to destroy all the air defense¹¹ capabilities¹² on the ground, not only those who are deployed¹³ in Ukraine, but also in Russia - I mean, on the Russian territory. So, in fact, what it would mean is that NATO would need to get into direct armed conflict with Russia.

　　LANGFITT: What do you think NATO should be willing to consider if we get into a situation where he's just bombing civilians¹⁴?

　　BATOR: There might be big moral dilemmas¹⁵. You know, looking at Ukraine, seeing thousands of civilians being killed almost every day - you know, we cannot just sit and watch.

　　LANGFITT: Bator isn't the only NATO ambassador concerned about how the alliance will respond if Russia expands its bombardment.

　　Deividas Matulionis is Lithuania's permanent representative to NATO.

　　DEIVIDAS MATULIONIS: It will be a question of credibility. And decisions which will be taken should be well thought, and some sort of cool-headed approach is very important. And we should not lead ourselves into even bigger conflict.

　　LANGFITT: For all the talk of a no-fly zone, Olga Oliker of the International Crisis Group here says imposing¹⁶ one doesn't make much strategic sense right now. That's because, she says, the Russians haven't relied much on planes to strike targets.

　　OLGA OLIKER: It's mostly doing that with missiles and artillery¹⁷. Your no-fly zone isn't going to do you any good with that.

　　LANGFITT: Do you think there'll be a no-fly zone?

　　OLIKER: No - hope not. Look, if there's a no-fly zone, there's a war - a broader war.

　　LANGFITT: In the meantime, Slovakia said it's willing to send sophisticated Soviet¹⁸-made missile systems that can take down jets miles up in the air. Beyond Ukraine, NATO allies are concerned Putin may eventually target other countries in the region, such as Moldova, which used to be a Soviet republic. The Eastern European nation is home to 4 million people. It's about the size of Maryland and borders Ukraine's southwest.

　　Daniela Morari, Moldova's ambassador to the EU, summed up her country's mood.

　　DANIELA MORARI: We - worried as everyone as also the scale of what could follow, at how long this could be. But having military operations at your border - it's difficult to really forecast in which way it could go and in how the situation can deteriorate¹⁹.

　　LANGFITT: Moldova is vulnerable. It's neither a member of NATO nor the EU, so it can't rely on protection from Europe. And Russian troops are already in Moldova, based in Transnistria, a pro-Russian unrecognized breakaway state. Earlier this month, Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian leader and Putin ally, displayed a map on national television showing Russian troops sweeping²⁰ from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa into Transnistria.

　　Tom Duvall is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, a think tank.

　　TOM DUVALL: If Russian troops, God forbid, were to take Odesa and move north and build a bridge to Transnistria through Ukraine, suddenly the Russians could use Transnistria as a new forward base, and that conflict would suddenly be incredibly alive in a totally new and dangerous way.

　　LANGFITT: Russia could reinforce its troop position there to pressure Moldova and nearby Romania, an EU member state and NATO's ally. Of course, Russian troops have made no big gains in Ukraine in recent days, and it's far from guaranteed they can take over the country's Black Sea coast. But Moldova faces other big challenges. It's hosting more than a hundred thousand refugees, five times its capacity.

　　And Morari, the ambassador, points out that her homeland relies on Russia for oil and gas.

　　MORARI: We are 100% dependent.

　　LANGFITT: What are you going to do?

　　MORARI: We also working on reducing, but this is something medium and long term. There are no solutions...

　　LANGFITT: You can't fix it overnight.

　　MORARI: There are no solutions for short term. This why there are no miracles.

　　LANGFITT: On Thursday in Brussels, Biden and other leaders of NATO allies will try to figure out how to continue to support Ukraine without fueling a broader conflict that they fear could engulf²¹ the region.

　　Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Brussels.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF VACANT CITIES' "COMMUTE")

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 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。

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 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

5 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

6 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

7 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。

8 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

9 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

10 interdict   

v.限制；禁止；n.正式禁止；禁令

参考例句：

• Troops could be ferried in to interdict drug shipments.可以把军队渡运过来阻截毒品的装运。
• Interdict could also be sought for the protection of public interests.禁令也可以用于保护公共利益。

11 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。

12 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

14 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。

15 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

16 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

17 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。

18 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。

19 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

20 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

21 engulf   

vt.吞没，吞食

参考例句：

• Floodwaters engulf a housing project in the Bajo Yuna community in central Dominican Republic.洪水吞没了多米尼加中部巴杰优那社区的一处在建的住房工程项目。
• If we are not strong enough to cover all the minds up,then they will engulf us,and we are in danger.如果我们不够坚强来抵挡大众的意念，就会有被他们吞没的危险。