美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why Ukraine's allies are reluctant to send U.S. or German battle tanks

Why Ukraine's allies are reluctant to send U.S. or German battle tanks

Transcript¹

Ukraine's allies are announcing their latest weapons packages for the country. But not all of them agree on whether to share western-designed and made heavy battle tanks.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Leaders from Ukraine and its allies gathered around a table in Germany today.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

They're discussing how to help Ukraine as Russia's invasion nears its first anniversary. Many nations are sending aid. And one nation faces extra pressure to send more. Germany has yet to allow Ukraine to receive German-made battle tanks.

INSKEEP: NPR's Rob Schmitz has been covering the war in Ukraine. And he joins us now from Germany. Hey there, Rob.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE²: Morning.

INSKEEP: What are defense³ officials putting on that table?

SCHMITZ: Well, the U.S. is presenting its latest package of military assistance for Ukraine. This one is worth $2.5 billion. And it includes hundreds of armored fighting vehicles and more support for Ukraine's air defense against Russian attacks. Yesterday, a group of European countries, including the U.K., Poland, Denmark and the Baltic states, announced what it called unprecedented⁴ military aid to Ukraine, including artillery⁵, air defense systems, as well as infantry⁶ vehicles. In fact, Finland is increasing its commitment to more than half a billion dollars, a lot for that country. So it seems we've got several countries, Steve, willing to spend lots of money to help Ukraine fight what many see as a renewed Russian offensive that may come soon.

INSKEEP: That all sounds impressive. So what's the pressure on Germany specifically?

SCHMITZ: Well, the Leopard⁷ 2 battle tank is a tank that's made in Germany. And it's seen as one of the world's most state-of-the-art tanks. And Ukraine has been asking for them since the war began. German Chancellor⁸ Olaf Scholz has been under increasing pressure by Germany's closest allies to give the OK for these tanks to be exported to Ukraine. Poland has already offered to send more than a dozen Leopards⁹ to Ukraine. But legally, they would need Germany's permission to do that. Scholz has repeatedly refused to do this. I spoke¹⁰ with Cathryn Cluver Ashbrook of the Bertelsmann Foundation, a Berlin think tank, about this. And here's what she said.

CATHRYN CLUVER ASHBROOK: Clearly, it seems to be that the world is coalescing¹¹ around the idea that Germany not only needs to make way for its Leopards to be sent to Ukraine, but also those countries that want to furnish German-built Leopards, that it needs to make the legal grounds clear that that can be done. That has to be an executive decision. Otherwise, Germany will continue to isolate¹² itself in the allied¹³ efforts to support Ukraine.

INSKEEP: Yeah. But I'm just thinking, Germany has sent other kinds of aid, however reluctantly. What's the hold-up on the tanks?

SCHMITZ: Yeah. And Germany continues to say that. You know, German media reports that Scholz would be willing to give his approval to deliver these Leopard tanks if the U.S. also sends Abrams tanks.

INSKEEP: Oh, the strongest and biggest American tank.

SCHMITZ: That's right.

INSKEEP: He wants those to go as well. What does the U.S. say?

SCHMITZ: Well, the Pentagon's undersecretary for defense policy, Colin Kahl, told reporters on Wednesday the U.S. will not send Abrams tanks to Ukraine because they are too difficult for Ukrainian troops to maintain. But many observers are not buying that. Retired¹⁴ U.S. General Ben Hodges responded on Twitter that this is condescending¹⁵ to Ukrainian troops, who have been sort of MacGyver-ing solutions to all sorts of problems throughout this war. It should be mentioned here that Germany's Leopard tanks are also difficult to maintain. I think Chancellor Scholz wants to make sure that Germany does not stand out as one of the only countries to send battle tanks to Ukraine and would prefer that the U.S. join him in that effort. And that's likely going to be priority No. 1 today when they discuss this in Ramstein.

INSKEEP: I guess we should underline this. Every ally, including Germany, is thinking about how much can they do for Ukraine without crossing some red line with Russia. Is that right?

SCHMITZ: That's exactly right. Scholz has repeatedly said that. And he has said also that he just doesn't want to cross that line so that Russia could retaliate¹⁶ in a more deadly way.

INSKEEP: NPR's Rob Schmitz in Berlin, thanks so much.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

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 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。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 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。

6 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

7 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

8 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

9 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

10 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。

11 coalescing   

v.联合，合并( coalesce的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A mental model begins coalescing in their minds. 一个意识模型开始结合到他们的脑子里。 来自互联网
• On the basis of coalescing this kind of element can separate oil from compressed air. 采用凝聚原理，分离压缩空气中的油份。 来自互联网

12 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

13 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

14 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。

15 condescending   

adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的

参考例句：

• He has a condescending attitude towards women. 他对女性总是居高临下。
• He tends to adopt a condescending manner when talking to young women. 和年轻女子说话时，他喜欢摆出一副高高在上的姿态。

16 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。