Time is of the essence to get more help to Ukraine, Zelenskyy adviser says

Time is of the essence to get more help to Ukraine, Zelenskyy adviser¹ says

Transcript²

As Ukraine continues to fight the Russians, its military will require more help. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Andrew Mac, an adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about U.S. assistance.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Since 2019, an American lawyer named Andrew Mac has served as a Washington, D.C.-based adviser to Ukraine's president.

ANDREW MAC: I took on this role thinking that it would be low-key, you know, once-in-a-while type of role. And when I took the role on, it was one week before the impeachment³ scandal hit.

INSKEEP: President Trump⁴ faced impeachment for his phone call to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019. Later came Russia's military buildup and then the Russian invasion. We called Andrew Mac during another dramatic week. Russia's withdrawal⁵ from the Kyiv region revealed the killings⁶ of civilians⁷. President Zelenskyy challenged the United Nations to do more. And as we just heard, Ukraine's foreign minister is asking NATO for more weapons. So how do Ukrainians rate American help so far? Andrew Mac talks of three phases - first disappointment, then gratitude⁸ and now concern about the future.

MAC: By the time it became clear that Putin was planning this huge attack against Ukraine, the weapons started to flow. But that was quite late. I think, if I'm not mistaken, U.S. weapons started en masse to come into Ukraine in the second half of January. So basically, you know, it was late - better late than never. But having said that, you know, the Biden administration has been extremely helpful. Obviously, you know, time is of the essence.

INSKEEP: When I follow the speeches and interviews of President Zelenskyy, it seems to me that he's saying two things about Western aid. First, thanks very much for all the support. I recognize how important it is. But second, what is the matter with you? Why are you not doing more? Can you speak to that side of the equation, the frustration⁹?

MAC: Well, I'll do my best. You know, I obviously don't have the authority to speak directly for the president, but I'll give you my best take on it. So here's the situation. You know, in addition to the military confrontation¹⁰ - right? - which, actually, Ukraine has done exceedingly well. And all the predictions were that Kyiv would fall in a day or two and Ukraine would collapse¹¹ within three days.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

MAC: Thankfully, that has proven wrong. And actually, it looks like at least the first battle of Kyiv has been won by the Ukrainian side. So this is very unexpected. However, despite this, you know, seeming victory, we see several things that are troubling. One is we believe Putin is regrouping. He has no intention to call it a day and say, oh, I tried. It didn't work. Putin has completely monopolized¹² control of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast. But let me be blunt. If the Ukrainians are not able to export their products - you know, their food products, their metal products - from Odesa to the rest of the world, Ukrainian GDP will be hit. The Ukrainian economy will not be able to stabilize¹³. You know, Putin could very well lose the ground war, but he could economically cripple Ukraine. The alternative supply routes that Ukraine has via Poland and other neighbors in the West are not sufficient to make up for the giant ports in Odesa.

INSKEEP: This is really interesting because you're telling me that there are some ways in which time is not on Ukraine's side.

MAC: Well, I think that's right. You know, I hear a lot of analysis that time is not on Putin's side. The Russian economy is going to, you know, head to Soviet-era levels in 6 to 12 months. You know, unfortunately, the Ukrainian economy, unless it gets significant assistance or the Black Sea ports are unblocked via a naval¹⁴ presence - unless that happens, then, you know, Ukraine will be economically not functioning in a matter of months.

INSKEEP: So as this becomes a longer war, Ukraine is going to need more economic aid.

MAC: Absolutely.

INSKEEP: Is there a different form of military aid that Ukraine will need than it has needed in the opening weeks?

MAC: Well, the conventional wisdom now is that the battles that are being prepared, literally¹⁵ in the coming days or week in the East - in the Donbas region especially - will be - it will be the modern version of Stalingrad. Ukraine is going to need a lot more heavy artillery¹⁶, tanks. They're going to need planes. They're going to need helicopters. They're going to need everything you need to fight a significant land war in a confined area.

INSKEEP: I want you to know we had Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser, on the program this week. And my colleague A Martinez raised this question of MiG fighters, Soviet-era fighters that Ukraine flies now. And there was talk for a while of transferring some old fighters from Poland to Ukraine. The United States said they didn't want to be the intermediary for that. But Jon Finer insisted this is not off the table. Let's listen to some of what he had to say.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JON FINER: So just to reiterate¹⁷, because I think there's some misunderstanding about this, the United States does not have MiG aircraft, and the United States has not said no and could not say no to other countries transferring MiG aircraft to Ukraine. Other countries have not yet made the decision to do that. The United States certainly wouldn't stand in the way of it. But what our military believes at this point is that the weapons and the systems that are going to be most effective for the Ukrainians are going into Ukraine en masse. And you are seeing the results of those transfers of weapons on the battlefield in real time.

INSKEEP: Andrew Mac, what do you make of that analysis?

MAC: I will say that out of all the NATO countries that border Ukraine, in general, Poland has been the one who's most aggressive in helping¹⁸ Ukraine on all fronts, including the military front and taking, I think, quite a bit of risk. That the Polish government, you know, even if they have the intention to transfer planes, would seek some kind of - you know, if not assurance because they already have it under NATO - but would seek some kind of understanding that those planes would be replenished¹⁹ by the U.S. or by NATO, I think, you know, for me, that's a logical request for the Poles to make.

INSKEEP: Do you assume that the time frame that you need to think about is not months but years?

MAC: Oh, that I don't know. So what if we reach a stalemate on the ground in the East in, let's say, two months, and we have an agreement that's not really an agreement, but it's more like a cease-fire, very similar to the DMZ, for example? Who is going to invest in Ukraine if you have a no man's zone located somewhere in eastern Ukraine with the possibility of new conflict - with a new conflict happening at any moment? So I think that's why Ukraine needs to have the solid support and continued assistance of the West.

INSKEEP: Andrew Mac, adviser to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thanks so much.

MAC: Thank you.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 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。

3 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

7 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。

8 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

9 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

10 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

11 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。

12 monopolized   

v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营

参考例句：

• Men traditionally monopolized jobs in the printing industry. 在传统上，男人包揽了印刷行业中的所有工作。
• The oil combine monopolized the fuel sales of the country. 这家石油联合企业垄断了这个国家的原油销售。 来自互联网

13 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。