美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia aims to capture Bakhmut, for its first important battlefield victory in months

Russia aims to capture Bakhmut, for its first important battlefield victory in months

Transcript¹

Russian and Ukrainian forces have been fighting over the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Both sides have suffered horrific losses. Russia is trying to encircle Ukrainian forces still in the city.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Ukrainian soldiers are hanging onto an eastern city that Russian forces have been trying to occupy for months.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Bakhmut is not a big city, around 75,000 people before the war drove many inhabitants away. Look at a map and you see why it has become a big focus. It's in eastern Ukraine in a region that Russia has been trying to dominate. Ukraine's armed forces are staying as long as they can.

MART?NEZ: Joining us now from the northeastern city of Kharkiv is NPR's Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakissis. Joanna, the focus on Bakhmut, why is it so important?

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE²: So - well, for the Russians, it would be their first significant victory in, like, seven or eight months. And, you know, Russian President Vladimir Putin really needs a victory at this point. Ukrainian forces have pushed the Russians out of areas they occupied early in the war, like parts of the Kharkiv region, where I am right now. And as for Ukrainians, Bakhmut has become a symbol of resistance against Russia, kind of like the city of Mariupol was in the early part of the war. And as this war drags on, the Ukrainians want to show that they will keep fighting for every inch of their land.

MART?NEZ: Joanna, can the Ukrainians hang onto this town? I mean, and why do they seem to want it so badly?

KAKISSIS: So based on the latest reports, it doesn't look good in Bakhmut for the Ukrainians. Right now, some reports suggest that Russian forces are even in parts of the city already. And these forces include members of the Wagner Group, a private mercenary army which operates alongside Russian military units. And they say Bakhmut is mostly surrounded. So we asked a Ukrainian military spokesman about these developments. His name is Serhii Cherevatyi. And he insists that these reports are, quote, "Russian propaganda."

SERHII CHEREVATYI: (Through interpreter) Russian propaganda is not reality. We are able to deliver ammunition³, provisions and medicine to our units in Bakhmut and also take our wounded from Bakhmut.

KAKISSIS: He claims that Ukrainian soldiers are also exhausting the Russian forces in Bakhmut and depleting⁴ Russian stocks of ammunition and weapons. He would not confirm or deny that a couple of bridges have been blown up by the Ukrainians, which would indicate the beginning of a tactical withdrawal⁵. But it is clear that the Ukrainians want to hang onto Bakhmut as long as possible so Russian forces pay as high a price as possible for as long as possible before Ukrainian soldiers are forced to abandon the city.

MART?NEZ: But, Joanna, I mean, after seven months of constant fighting, I mean, what's left in that city?

KAKISSIS: Yeah. There doesn't seem to be much left of Bakhmut at this point, at least based on videos posted to social media. Imagine block after block of shelled and collapsed⁶ buildings, of heaps of smoldering⁷ rubble⁸. And yet, incredibly, A, about 10% of the population still remains⁹ in Bakhmut, hundreds of people. Many of them are older people, though there are some children with them. And they are huddled¹⁰ in basements without electricity or running water. We asked the military spokesman Serhii Cherevatyi about this. And he told us that by law, Ukrainian forces cannot make these civilians¹¹ evacuate¹².

CHEREVATYI: (Through interpreter) We tell them that Russia is threatening you. But many people, especially those who are older, they are afraid of changing their surroundings. Maybe they think they will not be accepted anywhere else.

KAKISSIS: He says Ukrainian soldiers keep trying to remind these civilians that Bakhmut is the most dangerous place in the country right now.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kharkiv. Joanna, thank you.

KAKISSIS: You're welcome.

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 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

4 depleting   

使大大的减少，使空虚( deplete的现在分词 )； 耗尽，使枯竭

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• Aging, being a series of continual losses, can be keenly depleting. 老龄化，作为一个系列的连续亏损，可以清楚地消耗。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 smoldering   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
• The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

9 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。

10 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

11 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。

12 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。