俄罗斯昨日在叙利亚展开一轮新的大规模攻势，几周来首次加大针对被围困的阿勒颇的空袭。

　　Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said the operation was targeting Isis and Syrian jihadis, as well as their ammunition depots and training camps, in the provinces of Idlib and Homs. He said the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, was participating in the campaign — its first combat mission.

　　俄罗斯国防部长谢尔盖.绍伊古(Sergei Shoigu)表示，此次行动的目标是伊德利卜省和霍姆斯省的“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)和叙利亚圣战分子以及他们的军火库和训练营。他表示，俄罗斯唯一的航空母舰库兹涅佐夫海军上将号(Admiral Kuznetsov)参与了此次行动，这是该航母首次执行作战任务。

　　A Russian frigate fired cruise missiles in the offensive, Mr Shoigu added. He did not mention Aleppo, where more than 250,000 people are trapped by a regime siege on rebel-held areas. But opposition activists said strikes began hitting the city early yesterday.

　　绍伊古表示，一艘俄罗斯护卫舰在这场攻势中发射了巡航导弹。他没有提到阿勒颇，该地有超过25万人被围困在由反对派占领的地区。但反对派活动人士表示，该市从昨日凌晨开始遭遇斯空袭。

　　“There were some 30 air strikes and three people have died so far,” said Hisham Skaff, a spokesman for the Fastaqem Kama Umirt rebel brigade.

　　叙利亚反政府军Fastaqem Kama Umirt发言人希沙姆.斯卡夫(Hisham Skaff)表示：“大约有30次空袭，目前有3人死亡。”

　　The latest offensive began hours after Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, discussed the Syrian conflict with Donald Trump, the US president-elect. Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its involvement in the bombardment of Aleppo have strained relations with the west.

　　在俄罗斯发动最新攻势几小时前，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔.普京(Vladimir Putin)与美国当选总统唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)讨论了叙利亚冲突。俄罗斯对叙利亚总统巴沙尔.阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)政权的支持以及参与对阿勒颇的轰炸，使其与西方的关系陷入紧张。

　　Mr Trump has suggested he is more interested in targeting Isis than removing Mr Assad, which could give Syria and Russia room to attack the rebels.

　　特朗普表示，相对于迫使阿萨德下台，他对打击ISIS更感兴趣，这可能给俄罗斯和叙利亚打击反政府军提供空间。

　　The Obama administration has reluctantly backed the Syrian opposition, but it has been criticised for not doing more to end the violence.

　　奥巴马政府对叙利亚反对派的支持一直很勉强，但外界批评其没有采取更多措施来终结暴力活动。

　　The US and Europe last month accused Russia of being an accomplice to war crimes for bombing civilians and hospitals in Aleppo following the collapse of a brief ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow. Syria and Russia have consistently denied deliberately targeting hospitals.

　　在美国和俄罗斯撮合的短暂停火协议破裂后，美国和欧洲上月批评俄罗斯是轰炸阿勒颇平民和医院的战争罪的帮凶。叙利亚和俄罗斯一直否认故意把医院列为轰炸目标。

　　Russia eventually paused its bombardment. But the Syrian regime has been warning for days of a new offensive on Aleppo, a critical battleground in the war. Analysts have been concerned that Damascus and Moscow would use the political transition in the US to mount an all-out offensive to defeat the rebels.

　　俄罗斯最后暂停了轰炸。但叙利亚政权多日来一直警告将对阿勒颇发动新的攻势，这里是叙利亚内战的重要战场。分析人士担心，大马士革和莫斯科方面将利用美国政治过渡的空档，发动一场旨在击败反政府军的全面攻势。