美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia continues to make violent, grinding gains in eastern Ukraine

Russia continues to make violent, grinding gains in eastern Ukraine

Transcript¹

Ukrainian officials are warning that the next few days could be critical to a key city in the region.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Russia is making gains in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials warn that the next few days could be critical in the fight for a key city in the east part of Ukraine called Severodonetsk. NPR's Nathan Rott is in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine, and he joined us to talk about the situation.

NATHAN ROTT, BYLINE²: Last night, the Luhansk region's governor said on Telegram that Russia is doing everything it can to cut the city off. Ukraine has been using a series of three bridges to bring in troops, arms and supplies across a river and into the city. And the Luhansk Oblast governor says Russia has now destroyed two of those and was aiming at the third.

MART?NEZ: Why is this city so important to the larger war?

ROTT: Well, it's the last major city in the Luhansk region that's at least still partially³ in Ukrainian control. But I think more importantly is what the fight there in the broader Donbas region says about the larger state of the war. Ukraine is now losing ground. They're short on ammunition⁴. They're short on weapons. They still don't have the number of anti-air systems they've been asking for for months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drove that point about anti-air systems home in his nightly briefing last night.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).

ROTT: "Did we get them? No. Do we need them? Yes," he said. There have already been 2,606 affirmative answers to this question, he said, in the form of various Russian cruise missiles that have hit Ukrainian cities. And I should say that includes a missile strike over the weekend in western Ukraine that injured almost two dozen civilians⁵.

MART?NEZ: Now, the U.S. and Western allies have provided Ukraine with arms. What else do they need? And actually, maybe what is - what do they need that's maybe not reaching them?

ROTT: Well, I mean, obviously, they'd like to get the anti-air systems that Zelenskyy was just talking about. And yeah, I mean, they have received heavy artillery⁶, anti-tank weapons, and certainly a lot of that has made it to the front line. But the bigger issue we're hearing about is ammunition shortages. Ukraine is becoming more and more dependent on Western arms because they've gone through most of their Soviet-era munitions⁷. That's something that's certainly going to come up later this week in Brussels when NATO defense⁸ ministers meet on Wednesday because there is an immediate⁹ need.

At the beginning of this war, Ukraine was very coy in revealing their losses on the battlefield. Just a couple of weeks ago, Zelenskyy said they were losing 50 to 100 soldiers a day. Now they are saying it is double that. And that does not include the wounded. So there's a bigger question of whether both sides can continue to sustain those types of losses in the long term.

MART?NEZ: And are the Ukrainians worried that as this war grinds on, especially in the east, that foreign interest and backing might wane¹⁰?

ROTT: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. It's no secret here in Ukraine that the U.S., for example, has other issues it's dealing¹¹ with - gun policy, inflation, election season. That's why a lot of the reporting that I've been trying to do over the last couple of weeks here has been focused on Ukraine's economy. This is already become a war of attrition. And for Ukraine to keep its war effort going in the long term, especially if support starts to drop off, it's going to need a functioning economy. And that fact is not lost on people here.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Nathan Rott in Dnipro, Ukraine. Nathan, thanks.

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 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。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

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 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。