VOA新闻杂志2022--基辅为没有暖气、水和电的冬天做准备

In Ukraine, Kyiv Prepares for Winter with No Heat, Water, Power

The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, is warning residents that they must prepare for bad conditions this winter. He said if Russia keeps striking the country's energy infrastructure¹, it could mean having no electricity, water or heat.

"We are doing everything to avoid this," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He added: "our enemies are doing everything for the city to be without heat, without electricity, without water supply, in general, so we all die."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video speech to the nation Sunday that about 4.5 million people were without electricity.

Russia has attacked Ukraine's energy centers over the last month, causing power outages and rolling blackouts across the country. A rolling blackout is when energy officials turn off power to save electricity. Kyiv was having hourly rolling blackouts Sunday in parts of the city and the surrounding area.

Kyiv is preparing about 1,000 heating points, but it is unclear if that will be enough for a city of 3 million people.

As Russia increases its attacks on the capital, Ukrainian forces are pushing forward in the south. Residents of the Russian-occupied city of Kherson received warning messages on their phones urging them to leave as soon as possible, Ukraine's military said Sunday. Russian soldiers warned civilians³ that Ukraine's army was preparing for a large attack.

Russian forces are preparing for a Ukrainian offensive to regain⁴ the southern city of Kherson. In September, Russia illegally annexed⁶ Kherson and three other regions.

Russian forces are also strengthening positions in other areas in the east. These actions make conditions for residents and the Ukrainian army difficult.

Russia's attacks have almost completely destroyed power plants that serve the city of Bakhmut and the nearby town of Soledar, said Pavlo Kyrylenko. He is the area's Ukrainian governor. He said attacks late Saturday killed one civilian² and wounded three.

Between Saturday and Sunday, Russia launched four missiles and 19 airstrikes hitting more than 35 villages in nine regions. The strikes took place from Chernihiv and Kharkiv in the northeast to Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south, Zelenskyy's office said. The strikes killed two people and wounded six.

In Bakhmut, 15,000 remaining residents were facing attacks every day without water or power, local media reported. The city has been under attack for months. But fighting worsened after Russian forces experienced losses during Ukrainian offensives in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

The front line is now near Bakhmut. Mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a Russian military company, are reported to be leading the fight.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is the founder⁷ of the group. In a statement Sunday, he announced the funding and creation of "militia⁸ training centers" in Russia's southwest. He said locals were best placed to "fight against sabotage⁹" on Russian land. The group also said it is opening a military technology center in St. Petersburg.

In southern Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was reconnected to Ukraine's power system, local media reported Sunday. Europe's largest nuclear center needs electricity to maintain its cooling systems. But it had been running on emergency power supplies since Russian attacks destroyed its outside connections.

Words in This Story

resident— n. a person who lives in a particular place

infrastructure — n. structures needed for a modern society including road, bridges, power centers and similar things

annex⁵ — v. to take control of an area and add it to a country

region— n. an area that is part of the world or of a country that is set apart for some reason

mercenary — n. a soldier who works for money not for a country

sabotage — n. the act of destroying or damaging something on purpose so that it does not work

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 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。

3 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。

4 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

5 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。

6 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。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

9 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。