美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. defense officials pledge to keep weapons supply flowing to Ukraine

U.S. defense¹ officials pledge to keep weapons supply flowing to Ukraine

Transcript²

Nearly five months into Russia's war in Ukraine, it increasingly looks like a war of attrition. At the Pentagon, the top leaders spoke³ about how the U.S. is adapting to this reality.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

We're nearly five months into Russia's war in Ukraine, and it increasingly looks like a long-term battle, a war of attrition. NPR's Greg Myre recently spent nearly two months in Ukraine, and he's back in Washington and joins us now. Hi, Greg.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Leila.

FADEL: I'm glad you're back safe. So top leaders at the Pentagon say the U.S. is adapting to the reality of this war. What did they say exactly?

MYRE: Well, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint⁵ Chiefs, General Mark Milley, outlined a pretty clear plan. More weapons are on the way, and we'll keep them flowing for a long time. Now, they said the U.S. is sending four additional long-range artillery⁶ systems. These are known as HIMARS. They have a range of nearly 50 miles and are striking far behind the Russian front lines, and this gives Ukraine a capability⁷ it just didn't have until recently.

FADEL: Now, the U.S. has armed Ukraine throughout the war, but as you note, the kind of weaponry has evolved. Can you walk us through the change?

MYRE: Yeah, so at the beginning of the war, the Biden administration was very concerned about a possible escalation⁸ that could become a conflict between Russia and NATO. So it sent smaller weapons, and these were the Javelins⁹ and the Stingers. A single soldier could fire it from his shoulder at a Russian tank or a helicopter. But as Ukraine's military pushed back hard, the U.S. began sending some drones and howitzers. And now we see sort of a third level where the U.S. is sending these very sophisticated and powerful HIMARS. There's even talk that the U.S. could train Ukrainian pilots on U.S. fighter planes. The House passed a measure to this effect last week.

We should stress, this would still have a long way to go, and the Pentagon leaders declined to comment on the possibility right now. But here's how Lloyd Austin described the overall U.S. approach.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LLOYD AUSTIN: We're not working just to provide security assistance in the short term; we're going to support Ukraine's self-defense for the long haul.

FADEL: So what's the Pentagon expecting in the coming days on the battlefield?

MYRE: Yeah, both sides are still fighting very aggressively, yet neither side appears capable of a decisive knockout blow. General Milley says he expects the Russians to continue with this approach they've had, really, for the past three months of using heavy artillery to just overwhelm Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country known as the Donbas. Now, this has brought Russia some incremental¹⁰ gains. It has worked in that sense. But it's often taken the Russians weeks to advance just a few miles or capture a medium-sized town. The Ukrainians have continued to put up very tough resistance on every front. Here's how Milley described the Russian war effort at this point.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARK MILLEY: The bottom line is the cost is very high; the gains are very low. There is a grinding war of attrition. The Ukrainians are making the Russians pay for every inch of territory that they gain.

FADEL: So does a war of attrition favor Russia or Ukraine?

MYRE: Yeah, I've asked a lot of people about that, and there's really no clear answer. Both sides can make a pretty strong case. Russian leader Vladimir Putin seems to think Western support for Ukraine will tail off, especially this winter, when Europe may struggle to find enough oil and gas, and this could ease Western pressure on Russia. But the Ukrainians also have a good case. The U.S. and NATO have been giving Ukraine these better, more sophisticated arms, and this has really given them capabilities¹¹ they didn't have when the war started five months ago.

FADEL: NPR's Greg Myre. Thanks, Greg.

MYRE: My pleasure.

1 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。

2 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。

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 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

9 javelins   

n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. 在正面交火之前，庞大的兵团会整体向前移动并投掷标枪。 来自互联网
• Elite mercenaries, originally from Aragon, armed with javelins and light armour. 加泰罗尼亚标枪兵为精锐雇佣部队，最初来自阿拉贡，装备标枪和轻甲。 来自互联网

10 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓