Pentagon says Russia is still laying the groundwork for offensive in eastern Ukraine

Pentagon says Russia is still laying the groundwork for offensive in eastern Ukraine

Transcript¹

Ukraine's president says the long awaited Russian offensive in the east of the east has begun. After Ukraine's surprising resilience in the north, this next phase of the fighting is seen as critical.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Russian rockets and artillery² shells have been pounding multiple Ukrainian cities across hundreds of miles of the country. This as Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the dreaded³ Russian assault on the east has begun. Russia's defense⁴ minister said its forces carried out over 1,200 strikes on military targets throughout Ukraine overnight. And Russian forces have seized the city of Cremona in the Luhansk region. That city, southeast of the capital, has a population of just over 18,000. The governor of Luhansk has implored⁵ citizens to leave before it's too late. For more, we're joined by NPR's Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Hi, Tom.

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE⁶: Hey, Leila.

FADEL: So Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thinks this is the start of the big Russian offensive. Is it?

BOWMAN: Well, you're right. That's what President Zelenskyy is saying, that the offensive has begun in the east. But others aren't willing to be that definitive⁷. The Pentagon says Russia is still conducting what they call a shaping operation, laying the groundwork for the offensive by sending in more battalions⁹ and artillery, firing more bombs and missiles, as we just heard. Now, a large portion of the Ukrainian army is there in the east. So they're dug in. And they'll be soon getting a lot more heavy weaponry from the U.S. and NATO, artillery, helicopters, drones and armored vehicles. That's all moving toward Ukraine. And it has to arrive fast to help them. The Russians, by the way, their strategy would be to try to box in Ukrainian forces. But do they have enough combat power to do that, enough competence¹⁰. That's the big question in the coming weeks.

FADEL: Enough competence - I mean, that's a big question because early on, many expected Russia's army to fare much better than it has. It's failed to capture the capital. And despite besieging¹¹, bombarding and starving the strategic port city of Mariupol in the southeast, Russian forces still haven't taken the area. What's the latest there?

BOWMAN: Well, you know, once again, as you say, we've seen all over Ukraine just bungling¹² by Russian forces and their commanders there - poorly trained troops, they didn't have enough precision-guided munitions¹³. And a big thing was they failed to attack Mariupol from multiple locations at once, which could have shaken up the defenders¹⁵. And that's kind of key when you're doing urban warfare¹⁶. John Spencer is a retired¹⁷ Army officer who focuses on urban warfare. He says a big part of all of this is the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians. Let's listen.

JOHN SPENCER: It's really hard to get a committed and dedicated¹⁸ urban defender¹⁴ out. We have the Ukrainians, who have the will to fight, which the Russians don't.

BOWMAN: And that's important. Urban warfare favors the committed defenders. They - Leila, they know the streets and the buildings, the tunnels that they can use to pop up and shoot. And the more the Russians destroyed buildings in Mariupol, they created rubble¹⁹, which makes it hard for their armored vehicles to move. And it also creates, interestingly, fortifications for the Ukrainians. Finally, you know, the Russians don't train for urban warfare like the U.S. military, which has these mock cities and villages at its training sites to practice urban warfare. I've been visiting these sites for many years. The Russians just don't do that.

FADEL: So the battle for Mariupol, if you could just remind us why it's so important, why it's so strategic for the Russian war in Ukraine. I mean, they've deployed²⁰ a lot of troops there.

BOWMAN: No, they have. It's a key port for, you know, one of the reasons. And also, it helps the Russians build a land bridge to Crimea, which they grabbed in 2014, a land bridge from Russia right to Crimea. Now, the Russians sent in 12 battalion⁸ tactical groups, each of which number from 800 to 1,000 soldiers, so as many as 12,000 troops. Once Mariupol falls, the Pentagon says most of those troops will head north into the Donbas region for that major battle ahead. But another analyst²¹ I spoke²² with, Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, says, hey, listen; don't just look at the numbers. Many of these battalions are really weak because of casualties, lost and damage equipment. And again, they're poorly trained conscript forces, who will face a battle-hardened Ukrainian army. Now, if Russia takes Mariupol, it still faces fighting in cities all over the north and east and the south. The Ukrainians are proving to be very, very resilient.

FADEL: NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Thank you, Tom.

BOWMAN: You're welcome.

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 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。

3 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

4 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。

5 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

6 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。

7 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

8 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

9 battalions   

n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍

参考例句：

• God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

11 besieging   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They constituted a near-insuperable obstacle to the besieging infantry. 它们就会形成围城步兵几乎不可逾越的障碍。
• He concentrated the sun's rays on the Roman ships besieging the city and burned them. 他把集中的阳光照到攻城的罗马船上，把它们焚毁。

12 bungling   

adj.笨拙的，粗劣的v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的现在分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成

参考例句：

• You can't do a thing without bungling it. 你做事总是笨手笨脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Enough, too,' retorted George. 'We'll all swing and sundry for your bungling.' “还不够吗？”乔治反问道，“就因为你乱指挥，我们都得荡秋千，被日头晒干。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

13 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

14 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

15 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

17 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。

18 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

19 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

20 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。

21 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

22 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。