美国国家公共电台 NPR--Top Zelenskyy adviser discusses Ukraine's latest military moves

Top Zelenskyy adviser¹ discusses Ukraine's latest military moves

Transcript²

A top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to NPR about the latest Ukrainian military advances and Russia's plan to hold a referendum in territory it occupies.

AMART?NEZ, HOST:

All right, now we're going to hear about Ukraine's perspective on these Russian plans. And we're joined by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre in Washington. Greg, we had this breaking news this morning, and I understand you yesterday spoke³ with a top adviser to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What message did he deliver?

GREG MYRE, BYLINE⁴: That's right. I spoke by Zoom⁵ with Mykhailo Podolyak, who is a part of Zelenskyy's inner circle. He was in the heavily fortified⁶ presidential administration compound (inaudible) in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Now, of course, yesterday he didn't know the details of Putin's speech about the referenda and the mobilization of more Russian troops, but he certainly anticipated the substance of what Putin would say. And he says Russia and its allies have taken this military defeat on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, so they're trying to change the narrative⁷ quite rapidly and claim these territories are now formally part of Russia.

MART?NEZ: If Russia does try to hold these referenda in the coming days, how does Ukraine see it all playing out?

MYRE: Well, we should note that - as we just heard a couple moments ago, that Russia annexed⁹ Crimea after seizing that Ukrainian territory in 2014. So Ukraine has seen this movie before. Now, many Ukrainian civilians¹⁰ have fled these other regions that may be annexed in eastern and southern Ukraine. The fighting has obviously greatly disrupted normal life there already. But some of those who have remained in these areas do support Russia, and if they vote in a referendum in favor of joining Russia, Moscow could recognize this ballot¹¹, even though it would widely be seen as illegitimate, certainly throughout Ukraine. So let's listen to Podolyak. Our NPR colleague Julian Hayda was in the office in Kyiv, and he provides the translation.

MYKHAILO PODOLYAK: (Through interpreter) This is a cynical¹² attempt in response to what is going on on the battlefield. There's no legal basis for this. You can't have a referendum in a place that is currently under military occupation. This attempt is to distract from Ukraine's effective counteroffensive.

MART?NEZ: Greg, would any other country even recognize such a move?

MYRE: The vast majority certainly would not. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink¹³, has already weighed in on Twitter. She called this - said it would be a sham¹⁴ referendum. It's a sign of weakness and Russian failure. And she said, quote, "the United States will never recognize Russia's claim to purportedly¹⁵ annexed Ukrainian territory." Now, perhaps Russia could get one or two of its partners to go along and buy into this, but even that may be a stretch. Podolyak believes Russia is acting¹⁶ with this sense of urgency because it has suffered these battlefield setbacks and could lose control of some of this territory that it would like to annex⁸. And he thinks that Russia wants to proclaim this Russian territory and then make the argument that this is Russian land being invaded by Ukraine. Here he is again.

PODOLYAK: (Through interpreter) I'm sure they'll maybe make some films. They'll make it look like they're doing something. But it won't be widespread. This is a matter of making it appear like they have control over the territory, but there is nobody to actually implement¹⁷ this.

MART?NEZ: You know, Ukraine has been able to improve its position on the battlefield with the help of U.S. intelligence and U.S. weapons. What is Ukraine looking for now at this point?

MYRE: Right. Podolyak was very clear - three things. First, more of these rocket systems known as HIMARS. The U.S. has provided 16, and they provide - fire very precisely¹⁸ up to 50 miles and are inflicting¹⁹ great damage. Second, tanks and other armored vehicles. He said these would be critical as Ukraine presses its offensive and tries to firmly establish some positions before the winter. And third, more air defense²⁰ system. Russia is firing these long-range missiles, and he says Ukraine needs these air defense systems to shoot more of them down.

MART?NEZ: All right, NPR's Greg Myre. Thanks a lot, Greg.

MYRE: My pleasure.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

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 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

6 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

9 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

10 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。

11 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

12 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

13 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

14 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

15 purportedly   

adv.据称

参考例句：

• This is purportedly the oldest tree in the world. 据称这是世界上最古老的一棵树。 来自互联网
• Mayor Oh Se-Hoon launched the campaign last year, purportedly to improve efficiency. 据悉，首尔市市长吴世勋于去年提出了这项旨在提高工作效率的计划。 来自互联网

16 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

18 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

19 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

20 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。