美国国家公共电台 NPR--Several Ukrainian officials have been dismissed in a large government shakeup

Several Ukrainian officials have been dismissed in a large government shakeup

Transcript¹

Deputy ministers from various ministries² in Ukraine are being forced out of power amid corruption⁴ investigations⁶. Do the firings mark a shift toward transparency?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The dust is still settling on Ukraine's largest government shakeup since Russia's war on the country began almost a year ago. An arrest and allegations of corruption and impropriety have led to the dismissal of several deputy ministers. Ukraine has had problems with graft⁷ for decades, but some see the recent removals as a sign that the country is becoming more transparent⁸. To explain, NPR's Joanna Kakissis joins us from Kyiv. Good morning, Joanna.

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE⁹: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So what makes this so significant?

KAKISSIS: Well, Leila, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, this shakeup was prompted by very specific allegations raised by journalists in the last week, which analysts¹⁰ say is a sign that the government is trying to contain the damage. For example, the deputy minister of infrastructure¹¹ was fired after accusations¹² of bribery¹³. A deputy in the prosecutor¹⁴ general's office got in trouble for taking an unauthorized trip to Spain, and the deputy minister of defense¹⁵ was caught up in a procurement¹⁶ scandal. An investigation⁵ by Ukrainian media alleges¹⁷ that the Defense Ministry¹⁸ sometimes purchased food for the military at prices up to three times more than those you would see at the grocery store. The defense minister has said that his staff did nothing wrong.

Secondly¹⁹, this is all happening at a time when Ukraine is getting tens of billions of dollars in military and other aid from the West.

FADEL: Yeah.

KAKISSIS: And at least in Congress, for example - in the U.S. Congress - it's likely to get more scrutiny²⁰. I spoke²¹ to Vitaliy Shabunin of the Anti-Corruption Action Center of Ukraine, and he says the country's history with corruption has made extra scrutiny inevitable²² - and that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy knows all eyes are on him.

VITALIY SHABUNIN: (Speaking Ukrainian).

KAKISSIS: So Shabunin's saying now the question for the president is - will he turn a blind eye to the problem? Because this is a problem that hits Ukraine's most important asset inside and outside of the country right now, and that is trust.

FADEL: How have Ukrainians and the West reacted to the shakeup?

KAKISSIS: Well, the Ukrainians we spoke to are generally happy that there are consequences for corruption or impropriety or even decisions just taken in bad faith. To them, it's a sign that things are changing and that politicians don't get to abuse power the way some of them did in the past, including former presidents. The U.S. and the European Union both welcomed Zelenskyy's government swiftly addressing any allegations of impropriety. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that he was not aware of any U.S. aid involved in the scandals. The U.S. and European governments also have to contend with political divisions over aid to Ukraine. They have to assure their constituents²³ that the money going to Ukraine is money well spent.

FADEL: And so how would the scandal impact the actual war effort?

KAKISSIS: Well, this shakeup could also hurt Ukraine in the information war with Russia. Since Ukraine took a hard pro-European turn after a popular uprising about nine years ago, largely driven by corruption concerns, the government has done a lot to make things more transparent. But Russia is trying to portray²⁴ Ukraine as a weak and corrupt³ nation. I talked to Timofiy Mylovanov, a former economy minister who is now president of the Kyiv School of Economics, about this, and he explained that the Kremlin is waiting for Ukraine to mess up.

TIMOFIY MYLOVANOV: Russia and Russian propaganda will take advantage of every mistake. You know, Russia is pushing us, and the war is pushing us to be as clean as possible and to address things as fast as possible.

KAKISSIS: He says Ukraine has a long way to go, but there's a cultural shift in the country when it comes to tackling corruption.

FADEL: Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv. Thank you, Joanna.

KAKISSIS: You're welcome, Leila.

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 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

3 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

8 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

9 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。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 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。

16 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

17 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

18 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

19 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

20 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

21 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。

22 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

23 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？