美国国家公共电台 NPR--Where the fighting stands in Ukraine

Where the fighting stands in Ukraine

Transcript¹

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Congress via video from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday. The city is currently under bombardment from Russia.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

All right. Now let's turn to NPR's Ryan Lucas, who's in Lviv, Ukraine.

Ryan, Zelenskyy has been making the call to the international community to establish a no-fly zone, but that's long been a non-starter. Will this expected new military aid make a difference in this fight?

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE²: Well, certainly Ukraine hopes so, and that's why we've heard this same message consistently from Zelenskyy in recent days in speeches that he's been delivering to Western capitols, including to the British Parliament and to the Canadian Parliament just yesterday. He has been saying Ukraine needs more support, and it needs it now - there's no time to lose. And that sense of urgency is something that we heard again from him today in this speech to Congress. And we've heard that - we heard, today, him appeal for air defense³ systems that would protect Ukrainian cities from Russian airstrikes, although, frankly⁴, airstrikes are not the only problem here. The Russians are shelling cities. They've got missiles coming in. It's not just about airstrikes. But, more generally, the talk - the clock is ticking here. Ukraine has put up a remarkable⁵ fight over the past three weeks, certainly more of a fight than Western governments - and Russian President, Vladimir Putin, as well - expected. But, again, Ukraine says it needs more support to continue this fight because, even though Russia has struggled militarily so far in many ways, it still has superior firepower.

MARTINEZ: And Zelenskyy made this address from the capital of Kyiv. That city is under a curfew amid a bombardment from Russia. So what's the latest there this morning?

LUCAS: Well, Russian forces remain outside the city. That is a testament⁶ to Ukraine's defenses and what they've done over the past three weeks. But what the Russians have done consistently and continue to do is shell the city day and night. They've hit apartment buildings and glass office buildings and recently metro⁷ stations, and the shelling is getting closer to central Kyiv - to the city center. The worst place around Kyiv at the moment still remains⁸ the suburbs, though, particularly on the northwest, where that Russian column for a long time was stalled. Heavy fighting has been there. Civilians⁹ have been desperate to get out. But the situation is, of course, dangerous across the city because of this shelling. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, imposed a curfew, as you mentioned yesterday. That runs until tomorrow morning. All of this said, it's important to remember that Kyiv remains in Ukrainian government hands. It's still very much in control. And we saw that yesterday by a visit that leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia made to Kyiv, where they met with Zelenskyy and held talks about what the EU can do.

MARTINEZ: But around the country, though, Russia appears to be stepping up its attacks on cities such as Kharkiv, and the situation in Mariupol grows more dire¹⁰ by the minute. Can you give us an overview¹¹ of where the fight stands at the moment?

LUCAS: Well, the main bit of fighting is around Kyiv. Kharkiv, as you mentioned, has just been pounded. City officials there recently said that the death toll¹² is around 500 civilians. Across the east and south, Mariupol, the southern city in the south that you mentioned, remains under siege. The humanitarian¹³ situation there is dire. Residents have been desperate to get out. Food is running low - no heat, no electricity. There was a sliver¹⁴ of hope yesterday. Around 20,000 people were able to get out of Mariupol. That's the first time, I believe, since the beginning of the siege, that a humanitarian corridor has actually been open to get civilians out of Mariupol. But, again, the situation there remains dire, as it does across much of the country. Western Ukraine, for now, however, remains largely peaceful.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Ryan Lucas in Lviv, Ukraine.

Ryan, thank you.

LUCAS: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROHNE'S "TWELVE")

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 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。

3 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。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

7 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 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。

10 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

11 overview   

n.概观，概述

参考例句：

• The opening chapter gives a brief historical overview of transport.第一章是运输史的简要回顾。
• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 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。

14 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。