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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Russia aims to capitalize on controlling the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol
Russia is consolidating2 its control of the strategic Ukrainian city of Mariupol, after months of bombardment that Ukrainian officials say killed tens of thousands of civilians3.
The battle for Mariupol has centered on the Azovstal steel plant in recent weeks. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters and several hundred civilians had been sheltering in the massive complex's underground maze4 of tunnels and bunkers, trapped inside for months with a dwindling5 supply of food, water and medical supplies.
Ukrainian officials announced earlier this month that all women, children and elderly people had been evacuated6 from the steel plant, as Russian attacks intensified7. But the fighters defending the plant vowed8 never to surrender, even as their loved ones and international onlookers9 pleaded for their safe evacuation.
That changed on Monday, when Ukraine formally ended its combat mission in Mariupol. Hundreds of soldiers were evacuated to Russian-held territory in the eastern part of the country, with help from the United Nations and other organizations.
Russia's defense10 ministry11 said Thursday that some 1,730 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered at the besieged12 steel plant, though Ukrainian officials have not confirmed that number or shared any information about the plant in recent days.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it's registered hundreds of Azovstal defenders13, including the wounded, as prisoners of war this week. That involves obtaining certain personal information in order to "track those who have been captured and help them keep in touch with their families."
The fate of the evacuated soldiers remains14 uncertain. Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that they would bring them home as part of a prisoner exchange, but have since gone silent.
Meanwhile, some Russian politicians are calling for them to be put on trial and even face possible execution, even though the Geneva Conventions state that combatants can't be put on trial just for participating in battle.
Plus, there could be more Ukrainian soldiers still barricaded15 beneath the plant, as one of its defenders indicated in a cryptic16 video on Thursday night.
Sviatoslav Palamar, the deputy head of the Azov Regiment17, released an 18-second video in which he said that he and other Ukrainian soldiers were still inside the plant – a claim that, while unverified, suggests the story isn't over.
"There is some operation underway," he said, according to an NPR translation. "I won't go into details of that."
Winning Mariupol is a rare but major victory for Russia, and not just because of its symbolic18 value. Mariupol secures a link between Crimea and the Russian border and gives Russia control over the entire north shore of the Sea of Azov.
Russian media reports suggest the Kremlin is taking steps to secure its hold over southeastern Ukraine, though it's not yet clear what that might look like.
It's already installed proxies19 to serve as local politicians, a sign that it aims to stay put for the long-haul even as Ukrainian forces have pushed Russia back in other parts of the country.
Joanna Kakissis reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
1 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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2 consolidating | |
v.(使)巩固, (使)加强( consolidate的现在分词 );(使)合并 | |
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3 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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4 maze | |
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑 | |
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5 dwindling | |
adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 ) | |
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6 evacuated | |
撤退者的 | |
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7 intensified | |
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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9 onlookers | |
n.旁观者,观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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10 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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11 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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12 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13 defenders | |
n.防御者( defender的名词复数 );守卫者;保护者;辩护者 | |
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14 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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15 barricaded | |
设路障于,以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 ); 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
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16 cryptic | |
adj.秘密的,神秘的,含义模糊的 | |
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17 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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18 symbolic | |
adj.象征性的,符号的,象征主义的 | |
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19 proxies | |
n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 );(测算用的)代替物;(对代理人的)委托书;(英国国教教区献给主教等的)巡游费 | |
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