Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, eyes Russia's actions

Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, eyes Russia's actions

　　Transcript¹

　　Russia's war on Ukraine has shaken Europe's political landscape. And perhaps the most vulnerable front-line country is the tiny, former Soviet² republic Moldova.

　　RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

　　Russia's war on Ukraine has created a lot of anxiety in other former Soviet republics. Perhaps the most vulnerable is a small country you usually don't hear a lot about, Moldova. Moldova is not in NATO. It is not in the European Union. And it has had Russian troops inside its territory for decades. NPR's Frank Langfitt is in Moldova. And he joins us now. Good morning, Frank.

　　FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: Hey. Good morning, Rachel.

　　MARTIN: Tell us a little bit more about this country where you have been traveling and assessing things.

　　LANGFITT: Yeah. It's sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. Of course, Romania is a NATO and EU country. Moldova is a former Soviet republic. And I'm just back from an area, Rachel, that I think explains a big reason why Moldovans have been so alarmed by the war just over the border in Ukraine. It's an area called Transnistria. It's a part of Moldova. But it's mostly Russian-speaking. It's a separatist region where Russia has stationed troops since the breakup of the Soviet Union. And Russia essentially⁴ has effective control there. This morning, I passed through a checkpoint with Russian, Moldovan and Transnistrian soldiers, passed two Russian armored personnel carriers. They were covered in tarps.

　　Now, Russia has between 15 to 1,800 Russian troops there. There are 8 to 10,000 Transnistrian troops. They're not well-trained. They do have tanks. It's been very peaceful for a very long time. But altogether, this is a bigger, better armed force than the Moldovan army. And so when Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, many here in Moldova were really frightened. Some people actually just packed their bags and took off. And the concern was that Russia might eventually send more troops into Transnistria and put pressure on the government here, which is very pro-European and just recently applied⁵ to get into the EU.

　　MARTIN: So now we're a month in to Russia's war in Ukraine. Do people in Moldova still have that fear of being a Russian target?

　　LANGFITT: Their calmer now about it, but not because they trust President Putin. It's because the Russians have been doing, frankly⁶, so badly on the battlefield just across the border. But they're still watching the war very closely. To put this in some context, when Russia fired missiles early on, on the first day of the war, you could hear them over here in Moldova. And I think there was this big realization⁷ of just how vulnerable this little, small country is. I was speaking to a guy named Iulian Groza. He runs the Institute for European Policies and Reforms. It's a think tank here. And he says, you know, the current security system here in Europe that's built around NATO membership and EU membership just doesn't protect countries like his.

　　IULIAN GROZA: It doesn't work because it has some limitations. So what we definitely will see, and we already look - I mean, seeing that - we will see a reset⁸ of the security setup in Europe in the next years to come, because countries like Ukraine, Moldova or other countries that feel themselves attacked through conventional and unconventional war by Russia needs guarantees, security guarantees.

　　MARTIN: So what's that reset going to look like, Frank?

　　LANGFITT: Well, I don't know. That's a great question. And I'm not - I don't have a clear answer just yet. Groza said they would be looking here maybe for EU support through - from, you know, getting weapons, military training, medical equipment to build up this very small military here, which, in fact, does not have tanks. It's not clear how this is going to go over in Brussels. And remember, Moldova is still officially neutral. And one of the reasons it does that is not to provoke the Russians more. Now, as I was saying, just after the war began, Moldova applied to join the European Union, as did the former Soviet republic of Georgia and Ukraine. And so you can get a sense there that they're looking for help, you know, to the West.

　　MARTIN: Right, which is exactly the opposite of what Vladimir Putin wants to happen.

　　LANGFITT: Exactly. I mean, what he wants is Ukraine and Moldova, former parts of the Soviet Union, to be neutral or part of a Russian sphere of influence a buffer⁹ against the democratic Western Europe, NATO, EU and ultimately the U.S. And what we're seeing is the war is actually driving them literally¹⁰ in the opposite direction. And I got to say, Rachel, having covered the war in Ukraine, visiting NATO and the EU recently, now in Moldova, you really can feel the political landscape of Europe shifting in real time.

　　MARTIN: NPR's Frank Langfitt reporting from Moldova. Thank you so much, Frank.

　　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 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。

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 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。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

8 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

9 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。