Ukrainian fighters are making their last stand in a steel mill in Mariupol

Ukrainian fighters are making their last stand in a steel mill in Mariupol

Transcript¹

A Ukrainian fighter calls on the world to save their lives and extract them and civilians² out of the destroyed city of Mariupol.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In Ukraine, the messages from inside the city of Mariupol are getting more desperate.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SERHIY VOLYNSKY: (Non-English language spoken).

FADEL: That's a local commander, Serhiy Volynsky, in a video plea posted to Facebook. He's saying, this could be the last appeal of our lives. We are probably facing our last days, if not hours. The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to 1. He goes on to appeal for a safe extraction of the civilians and soldiers from inside a steel plant where Ukrainian fighters are making their last stand. For more on the situation in Mariupol, we have NPR's Tim Mak on the line. He joins us from a cafe in Odesa. Hi, Tim.

TIM MAK, BYLINE⁴: Hey, there.

FADEL: So what do we know about what's happening inside Mariupol right now?

MAK: Well, city officials say that there are still some 100,000 people trapped in the city, and there are Ukrainian troops in particular in that steel plant you mentioned - this sprawling⁵ complex with a lot of underground tunnels that, according to both the Russian and Ukrainian military, has been the focus of Russian strikes over the past several days. Now, Russia has repeatedly told Ukrainian fighters in the city to surrender. And so far, Ukrainian fighters have refused to do so. The fact that this commander is now pleading for extraction shows you how desperate the situation has become.

Now, Mariupol has held out since the city was surrounded by Russian troops in early March. Officials have been working desperately⁶ to secure humanitarian⁷ corridors out of the city for civilians. And it sounds like after several days of stalemate, a preliminary agreement has been reached this morning by both sides. We should note, however, that these agreements have gone south many times in the past. The Ukrainian government is now seeking to send some 90 buses to pull civilians out.

FADEL: A hundred thousand people. And they've been in this besieged⁸ city for some 50 days with little access to food, water, medicine, as many fear Russia will soon raze⁹ Mariupol to the ground. But many have also gotten out. Officials say hundreds of thousands of people have fled the city. What can you tell us about where they've gone?

MAK: Well, many of them have sought refuge further west, away from the fighting - in places like where I am in Odesa, southern Ukraine, for example. This morning, I spoke³ to Olga Anasova. She fled Mariupol in late March, along with her son and husband.

OLGA ANASOVA: (Non-English language spoken).

MAK: She says that her mother died in the first days of the war, in late February. They're not sure exactly what happened, but she had a seizure¹⁰ before she passed. They wrapped her in a carpet and begged soldiers nearby - Ukrainian or Russian, she was so full of grief and shock she wasn't sure which ones - she asked these soldiers to help them dig a grave. Her mother's death delayed her family's escape from the city, she told us. And she said that she saw dead bodies rotting everywhere in the city that she called home.

ANASOVA: (Non-English language spoken).

MAK: She said it was like hell in the city, that people turned from humans to animals. There was no running water, no electricity, no light, even as it was -7 degrees Celsius¹¹. It was impossible to live in the city, she said. But in a way, she also said that people were able to adjust, that weeks into the conflict, an explosion happened 50 meters away from her as she was heating up water for tea, and they didn't even take cover. That said, she was ecstatic to escape Mariupol. Her favorite memory was entering Ukrainian territory and seeing a fresh piece of bread for the first time since the war began. It's been a real challenging task for Ukraine. Military analysts¹² say that this new offensive that Russia has reportedly launched is going to really challenge civilians and soldiers on both sides of the battlefield.

FADEL: Devastating¹³ to listen to these voices. NPR's Tim Mak. Thank you, Tim.

MAK: Thank you so much.

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 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 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。

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 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

9 raze   

vt.铲平，把(城市、房屋等)夷为平地，拆毁

参考例句：

• The nuclear weapons stored by the United States alone are sufficient to raze the planet.仅美国储存的核武器就足以毁灭地球。
• The earthquake made the city raze to the ground.地震把这个城市夷为平地。

10 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

11 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

12 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。

13 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。