Russia's war will be led by a general with a reputation for attacking civilians

Russia's war will be led by a general with a reputation for attacking civilians²

Transcript³

Russia put a new commanding general in charge of operations in Ukraine. The move comes after several top Russian military leaders died during the invasion which has taken longer than Russia expected.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Russia for the first time has named an overall commander for its war with Ukraine. His name is General Aleksandr Dvornikov. He's 60 years old and has been in charge of the most brutal⁴ fighting in Ukraine. NPR's Pentagon correspondent, Tom Bowman, joined us earlier with more reporting on this general and what it means for the fight.

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE⁵: Mariupol is a southern city of some 400,000 that's been virtually destroyed under the general's watch. Also, the recent missile attack on a train station in the eastern Donbas region that led to at least 50 civilians dead and more than a hundred wounded - his responsibility, as well. And that's not surprising behavior for the general who, as we said, also led Russian forces in Syria. And they took part in some especially brutal targeting of civilians, hitting a number of hospitals, for example. So given his track record, look for this kind of horrific war aimed at civilians to continue as the fighting moves more to eastern Ukraine.

FADEL: So now that this general is in charge of the overall fight, should we expect the overall Russian war to change at all?

BOWMAN: Well, again, it's going to be a focus more on the east, where Russian troops are now regrouping and resupplying and will in the coming weeks head into that Donbas area. What they're going to try to do, Leila, is box in the Ukrainian army there, prevent them from moving elsewhere, resupplying. And there's a sense that the Russian troops will try to grab more of this Donbas area for better negotiating position when and if there are peace talks. And meanwhile, more weapons and armor are heading into Ukraine from NATO allies. So the expectation is a very tough and bloody⁶ fight that could determine how this war ends. But analysts⁷ say this could go on for many months or even longer. The Russians already, of course, have a foothold there with Russian separatists who have been fighting for some eight years now.

FADEL: Right. So up until this point, the Russians didn't have an overall commander in this war. Do we know why that is?

BOWMAN: You know, we don't. And defense⁸ analysts are puzzled why no overall commander was ever named. Instead, the Russians had a handful of separate military districts in Ukraine never seemingly coordinating⁹. There is talk that Russian President Vladimir Putin kept the war planning to a small, tight-knit group. And clearly, there was little communication or planning.

FADEL: And, of course, the Russians haven't performed well. What is the Kremlin expecting General Dvornikov to do?

BOWMAN: Well, they expect him, again, to be much more brutal in the days and weeks ahead to somehow - you know, he can maybe make better use of command and control and so forth¹⁰. But the problem is he can't create more units. Some of these combat units have lost up to 30% of their combat power. But look to him, as I said, to be more brutal with missiles. The Russians have a lot more missiles, as we saw in the attacks on Mariupol, in the train station. Look for them to use a lot of these missiles, again, to target civilian¹ areas.

FADEL: That's NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Thank you, Tom.

BOWMAN: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 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。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 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。

9 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。