美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. ambassador to Ukraine: 'It's going to be a long, grinding, tough war'

U.S. ambassador to Ukraine: 'It's going to be a long, grinding, tough war'

Transcript¹

KYIV, Ukraine — The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has gone through a lot recently.

Former president Donald Trump² recalled the ambassador in 2019, an episode that became a big part of his first impeachment³. This past February, the embassy was abruptly⁵ shut down shortly before Russia invaded.

It reopened last month, and the newly arrived ambassador, Bridget Brink⁶, is the first permanent, Senate-confirmed ambassador in three years. She's overseeing a massive U.S. assistance program to Ukraine with a staff that for now is much smaller than what it was before the war.

"I wish I had 48 hours in a day," Brink told NPR in an interview at the huge embassy compound.

She begins most days with meetings with Ukrainian government officials. That often involves a trip through Kyiv, where everyday life can seem mostly normal, until she reaches the heavily fortified⁷ government buildings.

"The first time I went to see the president (Volodymyr Zelenskyy), or whenever I go to see a minister, the offices are all barricaded⁸. They're all dark. You have to walk along dark hallways with no light and go up dark elevators because for reasons of security, they don't keep the lights on," she said.

"Very heavily armed people are everywhere. Barricades⁹ and roadblocks are everywhere," she added. "Kyiv remains¹⁰ in a wartime posture¹¹."

Brink, who previously¹² served as ambassador to Slovakia, arrived in Ukraine less than three weeks ago. She's already visited the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka, where Russian forces were accused of widespread abuses as they advanced to within 10 miles of the capital in the early days of the war.

Brink said the U.S. is funding Ukrainian efforts to investigate war crimes.

"This is a really important priority, and it's why I wanted to personally go to some of these sites early on," she said.

Ukraine says it has documented more than 15,000 potential Russian war crimes. Three Russian soldiers have already been tried and convicted.

However, Ukraine faces a host of challenges, which include capturing Russian troops suspected of abuses and linking them to specific crimes. Ukraine says it wants to push ahead despite the ongoing¹³ war. If the country waits until the fighting is over, evidence and witnesses could be much harder to find.

Dual¹⁴ realities in a country at war

The ambassador said living in Kyiv often means dealing¹⁵ with dual realities — going about ordinary daily business that's punctuated¹⁶ by abrupt⁴ reminders¹⁷ of the ongoing war.

"On the one hand, it seems a little bit normal in that some shops and restaurants are starting to open and you can get some goods here," she said. "But on the other hand, throughout the day there are air raid sirens and it's against a threat that's very hard to guard against."

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At the start of the war, Russia was attacking on three fronts — north, east and south. Now the fighting largely concentrated on the east. But it still imposes hardships on Ukrainians throughout the country.

"I just look at the resilience of the Ukrainian people from the president to the 10-year old girl that I met in Irpin, who had to hide for two and a half months in a dark, cold, dirty basement with missiles flying and hitting all around her," Brink said. "Yet she and her mom said they're going to stay and they're going to fight to the very end."

The war is nearly four months old and there's no end in sight. The momentum¹⁸ has swung back and forth¹⁹, and Russia now appears to have the upper hand in the current fighting in the eastern part of Ukraine.

"My judgment²⁰ is that this is going to be a long grinding, tough war," Brink said. "The Ukrainians are fighting inch by inch, yard by yard, kilometer by kilometer. It's incredibly intense, difficult fighting with lots of losses."

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 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。

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 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

5 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

6 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

7 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

8 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

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

9 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

15 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。

16 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

18 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

19 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。

20 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。