美国国家公共电台 NPR--Putin addresses his nation as Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the 1-year mark

Putin addresses his nation as Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the 1-year mark

Transcript¹

Russian President Putin addresses his nation three days before the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the day after President Biden's unannounced visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a joint² session of Russia's parliament in a closely watched State of the Union-type speech today in Moscow. The address comes just days before the one-year anniversary of the start of Russia's war in Ukraine. And just hours before President Biden makes his own remarks about the war from nearby Poland. NPR's Charles Maynes is in Moscow following along and joins us now. Good morning, Charles.

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE³: Good morning.

FADEL: OK, so this was a really anticipated speech. What did Putin say?

MAYNES: Putin came out swinging against the West, as expected. He again presented the war in Ukraine as an existential struggle against Western forces intent on dismantling⁴ the historical territory of Russia, and by that he means Ukraine. Moreover, Putin argued that Russia had done everything to try and find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine, but really had been deceived time and time again by the West, essentially⁵ leaving Russia no choice. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: So here he says they are the ones who started this war. We're the ones trying to end it. Now, surprising here was just how much of the speech then drifted and really stayed focused on domestic issues. Really, the message - as we said, a kind of State of the Union speech - it was really that Russia's brightest days are ahead of it. But then he delivered a surprise at the end. Oh, by the way, Russia is suspending its participation⁶ in the New START nuclear arms treaty.

FADEL: OK, wait a second. Does this mean nuclear arms control is going to end?

MAYNES: Well, not quite. Putin insisted that Russia was suspending, not leaving - that's critical - the...

FADEL: OK.

MAYNES: ...New START treaty, due to actions by the U.S. and European nuclear powers such as France and Great Britain. Now talks between the U.S. and Russia to extend the treaty, which runs out currently in February 2026, really had been stumbling of late. Russia had been linking progress in the talks to the U.S. really pulling back on involvement in Ukraine. But certainly this takes us into uncharted territory. And moreover, Putin has assigned his defense⁷ ministry⁸ to say to prepare, not necessary carry out, possible nuclear tests.

FADEL: OK - more uncertainty⁹. What did Putin have to say given the impact of the war at home? What was the domestic message?

MAYNES: Well, domestically, again, it was this message that, you know, our brightest days are ahead of us. And it's surprising when you see Putin suddenly dip into thanking everyone across Russian society for basically solidarity¹⁰, for coming together in support of the war. In a sense, I think there's a sense that he really is trying to show that this fight continues with the backing of the Russian people. And so we saw him, time and time again, say that, you know, we're going to pledge families - help to the military families. We're going to build schools. We're going to revive our society. And also, finally, that essentially sanctions had failed, that despite all these Western sanctions trying to tame Russia and really kind of cut into its war-making capabilities¹¹, that Russia was still thriving.

FADEL: Now, this speech comes just hours before President Biden gives an address in Poland that will have a very different message. It also comes just a day after his surprise trip to Kyiv. What was the reaction in Moscow?

MAYNES: Yeah, you know, in Moscow, it really was seen as both provocative¹² in the sense that you had, of course, the president of the United States in Kyiv, but also an affirmation, you know, that in Ukraine, Russia is fundamentally engaged in a proxy¹³ war with the U.S. They've always presented the U.S. as really the person to deal with if you want to find some kind of solution to this crisis.

FADEL: NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thanks so much, Charles.

MAYNES: Thank you.

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 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。

3 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。

4 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

7 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。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

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

12 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

13 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。