美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden marks anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a speech in Warsaw

Biden marks anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a speech in Warsaw

Transcript¹

Biden spoke² near this same site 11 months ago at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As the war drags on, he's back -to boost the morale³ of NATO and make a plea for the fight to continue.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Biden is in Poland today, where he'll be giving a speech at the site of the historic Royal Castle.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Biden spoke near this very same site last year at the start of Russia's war in nearby Ukraine. Now he's back and asserting that after a year of war, the cause of democracy has only grown stronger.

FADEL: NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid joins us now from Warsaw. Good morning, Asma.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: OK. So it's a bit of a strange split screen today. You have the president of the U.S. speaking on democracy in Poland. And then hundreds of miles away in Russia, Vladimir Putin is making a case for Russians to oppose this Western order, right?

KHALID: It is, I will say, a bit of a disconnect, right? I mean, the White House believes that the world is at a critical moment in this big battle between authoritarianism⁵ and democracy. Biden himself, last year in Poland, described this as a fight between a rules-based order and brute⁶ force. And he sees Putin's invasion of Ukraine as part of that broader struggle. I just got off a call that White House national security adviser⁷ Jake Sullivan held with reporters. And he said that the president intends today to put the Ukraine war in a larger context, that the president's speech will make the case that democracies have grown stronger over the course of the last year.

Biden is also expected to touch on Russian brutality⁸ in the war. And over the weekend, the U.S. formally accused Russia of committing crimes against humanity in a speech that Vice⁹ President Kamala Harris delivered at the Munich Security Conference. You know, I will say it is noteworthy that Biden is returning to the very scene where he tried to rally the world for this fight about a year ago. You know, here we are, back in Poland on the eastern flank of NATO, and the war is continuing to rage on.

FADEL: Yeah. And a year in, the U.S. has provided a lot of support, more than $112 billion to Ukraine. What else is Biden pledging at this point?

KHALID: Well, when he went to Kyiv yesterday, he announced an additional half a billion dollars of military aid. The Biden administration's also announcing new sanctions against Russia. It is worth pointing out that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has asked the U.S. for F-16s. But the Biden White House to date has been noncommittal about sending those warplanes. You know, throughout this conflict, the White House has been cautious about supplying more military equipment that it fears could potentially escalate¹⁰ the conflict.

But some experts and some lawmakers say that time is very critical. Yesterday, in fact, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a statement praising Biden for making that secret trip to Ukraine. He said that it sent the right signal at the right time. But he also said words must be followed by powerful actions. And he called on the White House to provide Ukraine with advanced fighter jets.

FADEL: Now, this trip has been quite the statement, I mean, like you mentioned, Biden just showing up in Kyiv and this surprise visit. Tell us a bit about how that happened and the message he was sending.

KHALID: You know, it was a real logistical challenge. Biden took a train overnight from Poland into Kyiv. It was about some 10 hours each way. And, you know, we're told from the White House that this plan for the trip was going on for some months. One key difficulty is that this covert¹¹ trip was not like the ones that former presidents have taken into U.S. war zones like Afghanistan or Iraq, you know? The U.S. does not have boots on the ground in Ukraine. It doesn't control the critical infrastructure¹², so it was risky¹³.

And in an attempt to reduce risk, the White House says it gave Russia a heads up that Biden would make this trip. You know, I will say, fundamentally, that trip to Ukraine, also the big speech here in Poland today, all of this is about sending a message to Russians and Ukrainians, of course. But it's also about sending a message to European allies and American voters at home that the U.S. will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

FADEL: NPR's Asma Khalid in Warsaw. Thanks, Asma.

KHALID: Happy to do it.

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 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。

3 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 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。

5 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

6 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

11 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

12 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。

13 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。