纽约时报 乌克兰前线的猜谜游戏(2)

 

    Analysts¹ say Russia has a rich repertoire² of tricks that make it all but impossible to guess a first move.

    分析人士说，俄罗斯拥有实现入侵的丰富技巧，几乎不可能猜到第一步。

    It demonstrated that with its first incursion into Ukraine in 2014.

    该国在2014年首次入侵乌克兰就证明了这一点。

    At the time, masked, mysterious soldiers appeared in Crimea in a military intervention³ that Russia initially⁴ denied but later acknowledged.

    当时，神秘的蒙面士兵出现在克里米亚，参与了一场军事干预行动。俄罗斯最初对此予以否认，但后来予以承认。

    Russian soldiers said to be “vacationing” or “volunteering,” turned up in eastern Ukraine later that year.

    据说是在“度假”或“做志愿者”的俄罗斯士兵在那年晚些时候出现在乌克兰东部。

    In fact, nearly every Soviet⁵ and Russian military intervention of the past half century, from the Prague Spring to Afghanistan to the war in Chechnya, has begun with an operation of disguise or misdirection, intended to sow confusion.

    事实上，在过去的半个世纪里，几乎每一次苏联和俄罗斯的军事干预，从布拉格之春到阿富汗，再到车臣战争，都是以伪装或误导行动开始的，目的是制造混乱。

    A limited incursion might also serve Moscow’s goal of dividing NATO allies, with some countries seeing the action as insufficient⁶ cause to sanction Russia, and others disagreeing.

    有限的入侵可能也有利于莫斯科分裂北约盟国的目标，因为一些国家认为这一行动不足以成为制裁俄罗斯的理由，而另一些国家则不这么认为。

    President Biden last week hinted at potential divisions within the Western alliance over how to react to a provocation⁷ that falls short of an invasion — comments that the U.S. then tried to walk back after a backlash from Europe.

    拜登总统上周暗示，西方联盟内部在如何应对不属于入侵的挑衅方面可能存在分歧。在欧洲的强烈反对下，美国试图收回这一言论。

    For soldiers in the East, where Ukraine has been fighting Russian-backed separatists for nearly eight years, the lack of clarity has made for a nerve-racking time.

    乌克兰在东部地区与俄罗斯支持的分裂分子战斗了近8年，对那里的士兵来说，这种不明情况让他们度过了一段头疼的时期。

    “Maybe it will happen here,” said Lt. Sergei Goshko, who is responsible for civilian⁸ affairs on this part of the frontline, and was thus authorized⁹ to provide his full name. “Maybe it will happen south of here.”

    “也许会在这里发生，”谢尔盖·戈什科中尉说。他负责前线这部分的民政事务，因此被授权提供他的全名。 “也许入侵会发生在南边。”

    “But we cannot know everything,” he added. “It’s a game of chess where you cannot see the moves in advance. Who will do what to whom? We don’t know.”

    “但我们不可能知道一切，”他补充说。 “这就像一场棋局，你无法事先预知其走法。 谁会对谁做什么? 我们不知道。”

    In one ominous¹⁰ hint of how Russia might justify¹¹ an invasion, its ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Konstantin Gavrilov, said Sunday that Moscow would respond if its citizens were threatened.

    俄罗斯驻欧洲安全与合作组织大使康斯坦丁·加夫里洛夫周日表示，如果俄罗斯公民受到威胁，莫斯科将会做出回应。这是一个不详的迹象，表明俄罗斯可能会如何为入侵行为辩护。

    Russia has granted citizenship¹² to tens of thousands of people on the separatist side of the eastern Ukraine conflict, any of whom might suffer in an escalation¹³.

    俄罗斯已向乌克兰东部冲突的分裂分子一方的数万人授予公民身份，他们中的任何一个人都可能在冲突升级中受难。

    “We won’t tolerate it if they attack our citizens,” Mr. Gavrilov said.

    “如果他们攻击我们的公民，我们是不会容忍的，”加夫里洛夫说。

    There wouldn’t be another warning, he said. “Only dogs bark. A wolf bites, and that is it.”

    他说，不会再有第二次警告了。 “只有狗叫。 狼咬，仅此而已。”

    Ukrainian officials and U.S. diplomats¹⁴ have focused on one possibility in particular in the region:

    乌克兰官员和美国外交官一直把注意力集中在该地区的一种可能性上:

    an accident at one of the most dangerous industrial sites in eastern Ukraine, an ammonia gas factory in separatist-held territory a few miles from the Ukrainian frontlines.

    乌克兰东部最危险的工业地点之一发生事故，那是一个位于分裂分子控制的地区的氨气工厂，距离乌克兰前线只有几英里。

1 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

2 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

7 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

10 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

13 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

14 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》