Biden administration considers sending up to 5,000 troops to Eastern Europe

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Biden administration considers sending up to 5,000 troops to Eastern Europe

Transcript¹

Russia continues to amass² more than 100,000 soldiers along its border with Ukraine, and the country has announced plans for naval³ exercises along Ukraine's southern coast.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We get a view next from a city where people could be forgiven for feeling nearly surrounded today. Kyiv - or Kyiv (ph) - is the capital of Ukraine. Russian troops have now appeared to the north of the city. They already were to the east and south, more than 100,000 Russian troops in all. NPR's Rob Schmitz is in the city and joins us. Hey there, Rob.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: What's it like to be where you are?

SCHMITZ: Yeah, it's interesting. It seems like a normal city that - everyone is sort of enjoying themselves, and restaurants are full. People are enjoying the daily snowfall that they have here. But when you start to talk to people here, you realize that people are preparing for something. And, you know, you've got Russian troops, as you mentioned, on all sides. And Belarus, of course, is pretty close to Kyiv, so people are worried that that is where Russian troops will come from. It's a few hours away from here. And I talked to many people yesterday who told me that they have emergency packs already prepared in their apartments, ready for the worst.

INSKEEP: Well, the United States is also doing the equivalent of emergency packs here - at least considering, we're told, sending several thousand troops to the region, not to Ukraine but to NATO allies nearby. What do people think of that where you are?

SCHMITZ: Yeah, over the past few days, in my interviews with military officials and members of Ukraine's Parliament, nobody expected this. Nobody expected that the U.S. or NATO would send troops to this region. One Parliament member told me that this would never happen. So this is both surprising and encouraging for Ukrainians, and if this is true, it will certainly boost morale⁵ here on the ground.

INSKEEP: There's also a U.S. ally weighing in over the weekend. British intelligence shared a finding, an accusation⁶, that Russia was planning to install a kind of Ukrainian puppet to run the country. Do Ukrainians see that as a real possibility?

SCHMITZ: Yes, they do, but they didn't agree with who the British foreign office said it would be. And as far as how prepared Ukraine is, veterans who would be called up to serve tell me that Ukraine is far more prepared than Moscow presumes. Ukraine has 250,000 troops on active duty who are ready to fight and more than double that who would be called up from the reserves if Russia attacks. I spoke⁷ to Volodymyr Prymachenko, veterans affairs minister of Kyiv yesterday. He's in charge of the reserves here in the capital. And he told me that Ukrainian troops hold a distinct psychological advantage.

VOLODYMYR PRYMACHENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).

SCHMITZ: And, Steve, he's saying here that when he served in the 2014 war against Russia, his battalion⁸ took a group of Russian soldiers as prisoners. He said they were demoralized and admitted that they had no idea what they were fighting for. He says Ukrainian soldiers, on the other hand, are defending their homeland, and they're ready to die for it. It's clear to them what they're fighting for, and their spirit is far stronger.

INSKEEP: They also have more arms because the U.S. is now sending lethal⁹ aid. What do Ukrainian officials say they need?

SCHMITZ: The one thing that everyone's telling me is technical weapons like Javelin¹⁰ anti-tank missiles. Stinger surface-to-air missiles were on their lists. But what is also needed is clarity. I spoke to Parliament member Ivana Klympush-Tintsadze, who says all this aid is great, but it'd be more helpful to know when it can expect action against Russia, what needs to happen to put that in motion, and here's what she said.

IVANA KLYMPUSH-TINTSADZE: What will be that tipping point when the West will decide to act? Just this week, Russia has already conducted two serious cyberattacks on Ukrainian governmental sites. That's not yet, you know, a red line, as we understand. So what will be that red line?

INSKEEP: Given that the U.S. has said it's not going to send troops into Ukraine, what more do they hope for from the United States?

SCHMITZ: Well, they're hoping that the U.S. would be more preemptive with Putin to put him off balance. You know, the ball's in Putin's court, and the idea here is to put him on the defense¹¹. Now, both President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have so far ruled out any kind of preemptive action against Russia. Ukrainian officials are also hoping for economic sanctions that could financially cripple Putin and his cronies.

INSKEEP: NPR's Rob Schmitz is in Kyiv. Thanks so much.

SCHMITZ: Thank you, Steve.

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 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

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 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。

6 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

7 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。

8 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

9 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

10 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

11 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。