Ukrainian women prepare to mobilize in case Russia invades

Ukrainian women prepare to mobilize in case Russia invades

Transcript¹

Women play an outsized role in Ukrainian society -– including mobilizing in case Russia attacks urban areas. Women of all ages are learning self-defense and survival skills.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The French and Ukrainian presidents are meeting in Kyiv today hoping to defuse tensions raised by Russia's troop build-up on Ukraine's border. But Ukrainians are not convinced that Russia will be deterred² - for instance, a group of women in Ukraine who are in training to defend themselves in case a ground assault comes. My co-host A got to see what they're learning in Kyiv.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

I'm at a postgraduate³ education center just a few miles outside of the city center of Kyiv - about 200 women filling an auditorium⁴, learning about combat training, learning about how to defend themselves and learning about what they might need to do in case something happens with Russia possibly coming over the border. We're going to find out what these women are here for and why they decided⁵ to take this course.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

MARTINEZ: It's a packed house. Nearly all the chairs are full, and everyone is here to see an older man with white hair wearing fatigues⁷ demonstrate defensive⁸ moves. The mood is light - lots of laughter. The instructor⁹ seems to add his sense of humor to the training.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

MARTINEZ: One example - how to hit an attacker from behind if you're sitting in a chair, aiming for your attacker's Adam's apple. Then the instructor demonstrates slapping, and all the women join in from their seats.

(SOUNDBITE OF SLAPPING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

MARTINEZ: A young woman named Olessa was sitting in the front row, taking it all in.

OLESSA: (Non-English language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: She's 29 years old. She has a big family - two sisters and a daughter. And her husband is more kind of a pro-Russian because he watches Russian TV propaganda. And her motivation is to protect her family and that she has to know what to do in the event of invasion.

MARTINEZ: Olessa also told us she's currently divorcing her pro-Russian husband. Russian influence is everywhere here, especially in the media Ukrainians consume. And that is what compelled 64-year-old Tatiana to take the self-defense training.

TATIANA: (Non-English language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: When I was watching Russian TV during Maidan revolution in Ukraine, I saw how they were lying all the time. And I was screaming to the TV that you are lying. It's all nonsense. And that's how they do, like, since then. So she believes that anything can happen because of this propaganda. She doesn't trust Russia at all.

MARTINEZ: Another woman we spoke⁶ to, 50-year-old Olena, is a grandmother of two.

OLENA: (Non-English language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: She came here because she needs to learn what to do in case of emergency. She has a lot of active friends who are also very eager to participate, but they are working. So she came here to share knowledge with them.

MARTINEZ: So, Leila, women here are not afraid of having to physically¹⁰ protect themselves. In fact, NPR's Joanna Kakissis met a young Russian woman who fought with Ukrainians in 2014 and is now a reservist in the army.

YULIA TOLOPA: (Non-English language spoken).

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE¹¹: Yulia Tolopa sits at her cozy¹² kitchen table and lays out the many medals for bravery she has earned fighting in Eastern Ukraine.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) I got this one from the Ukrainian National Assembly. I received this because I was injured on the front lines, and this one was awarded to foreigners who came to defend the Ukrainian people.

KAKISSIS: That this baby-faced 26-year-old became one of those defenders¹³ is surprising when you consider her story. Tolopa was born and raised in Russia. Growing up in Russia's Southwest, she spent much of her childhood around hardcore Russian nationalists.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) They taught us how to fight, how to use weapons. It was militaristic. Our school used to always send groups of students to competitions in shooting and grenades throwing.

KAKISSIS: She excelled at these competitions and at mixed martial¹⁴ arts, or cage fighting. She had a difficult family life, and the Russian nationalists training her became her mentors¹⁵. These guys used to talk about Ukrainians as their Slavic brothers until a pro-Europe revolution began in Ukraine in 2014.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) They started with all this propaganda about Russians being killed there, and you aren't allowed to speak Russian there at all. And if you come and say just one word in Russian, they'll kill you, hang you. And I was like, how come? We all been told that we were all brothers - Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians.

KAKISSIS: In the spring of 2014, when Tolopa was 18, she decided to go see for herself and took a train to Kyiv. There, she found a totally different story.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) It was important for me to see for myself, and I saw the lies that Russia was putting out. They wanted to grab a chunk¹⁶ of this country. That's not how you treat your brothers.

KAKISSIS: She befriended Ukrainians and soon joined volunteers fighting on the front line. She met a few dozen other Russians there also fighting for Ukraine. And she met Ukrainian soldiers, like Valery Vlasov (ph), who's now 40. He says he was shocked when he first saw her.

VALERY VLASOV: (Through interpreter) I thought, oh, my God, what is this child doing here? But soon I realized she was a fighter. She was brave. So what if she's Russian? She has done more for Ukraine than some Ukrainians.

KAKISSIS: Tolopa bonded¹⁷ with Vlasov and other Ukrainian soldiers. She calls them her brothers.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) When I came here and saw how Russia grabbed Crimea, for me, as a person who was born there, who is a citizen of the Russian Federation¹⁸, I wanted to stay here and show people that not all Russians are like that.

KAKISSIS: On the other side of the front line, however, were the Russian nationalists she grew up with, including her ex-boyfriend.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) He used to tell me, I'll find you. I'll take you away. I promised your mother I'll bring you back. And I was like, are you nuts? How do you imagine doing this? I'm sorry, but you are on that side, killing¹⁹ people, killing Ukrainians.

KAKISSIS: She told him, if I see you in front of me, I will shoot you.

TOLOPA: (Through interpreter) My mother called me a traitor²⁰. My uncle told me he would force me to walk around Russia naked as punishment.

KAKISSIS: Tolopa is now a Ukrainian citizen and a hero in her adopted country...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

STASIK: (Singing in non-English language).

KAKISSIS: ...Even appearing in a patriotic²¹ video by the Ukrainian singer Stasik. She's also a single mother to a 6-year-old daughter.

MIRA TOLOPA: (Non-English language spoken) Mira Tolopa (ph). OK.

KAKISSIS: Mira greets us wearing a checkered²² shirt and a tutu. She's cooing at her very friendly pet rat.

MIRA: (Non-English language spoken). She, every time, say, I'm cute. I'm cute. See?

KAKISSIS: (Laughter).

Mira knows something is going on in Kyiv. She's heard kids at school saying the Russians are mad. I ask her if she's scared.

MIRA: No, I don't scared. I not even scared of spider.

KAKISSIS: Mira's heard the name Vladimir Putin and wonders, is he a spider? But she is sad when she looks at her mom's fatigues hanging on a coat rack.

You don't want her to go.

MIRA: No, I don't. No.

KAKISSIS: You don't. Yeah.

Tolopa winces²³ as Mira talks. If war breaks out, she would be torn between staying with her daughter and serving her adopted country. But for now, like the rest of Ukraine, she's just waiting and watching to see what will happen.

Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv.

(SOUNDBITE OF FUNK FICTION'S "AQUATIC AMBIENCE")

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 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

3 postgraduate   

adj.大学毕业后的，大学研究院的；n.研究生

参考例句：

• I didn't put down that I had postgraduate degree.我没有写上我有硕士学位。
• After college,Mary hopes to do postgraduate work in law school.大学毕业后， 玛丽想在法学院从事研究工作。

4 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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。

7 fatigues   

n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服

参考例句：

• The patient fatigues easily. 病人容易疲劳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Instead of training the men were put on fatigues/fatigue duty. 那些士兵没有接受训练，而是派去做杂务。 来自辞典例句

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 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。

12 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

13 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

15 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

16 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

17 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

18 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

19 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

20 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

21 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

22 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

23 winces   

避开，畏缩( wince的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He winces at the memory of that experience. 他一回想起那番经历就畏缩起来。
• He winces at the memory of that defeat. 一想到那次失败他就畏缩了。