Kyiv and other cities remain in Ukrainian hands but Russia isn't letting up

Kyiv and other cities remain in Ukrainian hands but Russia isn't letting up

Transcript¹

In a video out of Ukraine, a projectile² appeared to strike near Kharkiv's administration building Tuesday — as civilians⁴ try to flee the city. Kharkiv is about 25 miles from the Russian border.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Much of what we see in the war in Ukraine is through pictures and video - snapshots of reality quickly shared around the world. A few of those images suggest the brutal⁵ force that Russia may yet bring to bear in the conflict. The initial Russian moves seem to have failed. Kyiv and other cities remain in Ukrainian hands. Video shows remarkable⁶ numbers of blown-up or burned-out Russian tanks and trucks. But in the last day, satellite video has shown a Russian convoy⁷ of tanks, trucks and artillery⁸ many miles long, and another video shows an explosion in a civilian³ area in a major Ukrainian city.

That last image is where we start our conversation with NPR's Tim Mak in Ukraine. Tim, what were you able to learn from that video?

TIM MAK, BYLINE⁹: Well, look; there are just so many dramatic videos, but there's this one particular one that's one of bombardment in the city of Kharkiv. That's in the northeast of this country, and it's just 25 miles from the Russian border. So in this video, we see the embattled city. There are a series of explosions in the northeast area of that town. NPR geolocated that video and found that it was a residential¹⁰ area that was targeted for explosions. And it was filled with a shopping mall, a bank, apartments and even a sushi and wine shop. There was another video distributed by the Ukrainian Ministry¹¹ of the Interior of this pale-faced woman who had been dragged or had crawled herself away from the scene of this explosion. Her leg is bleeding, and this camera settles on a very graphic¹² scene. Here's Olga Shutalova (ph). She's another resident of Kharkiv who spoke¹³ to us.

OLGA SHUTALOVA: Dead and injured are lying on the streets. Fragments of bombs and shells are found on playgrounds and in country-yards where a thousand civilians live.

MAK: So you heard her say that the dead and injured are lying in the streets. Kharkiv's mayor says that dozens of civilians have been injured, and there have been at least nine deaths, including four people who were killed as they left a bomb shelter to try and get some water. In Mariupol - that's a port city in the far southeast of Ukraine - there are widespread power outages, and heating plants are being damaged as Russian airstrikes increase.

MARTINEZ: And what about the capital of Kyiv?

MAK: Well, the capital of Kyiv remains¹⁴ in Ukrainian hands for now. Across the city of Kyiv, there's - there are these kind of message of defiance¹⁵. There are these billboards¹⁶ that are going up in Russian. One reads, Russian soldiers stop. How can you look your children in the eyes? Leave. Stay human. The capital city remains under threat, however. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that hundreds of saboteurs have been sent to undermine the defense¹⁷ here, and there is new satellite imagery that's been provided to NPR by the company Maxar, and it shows columns of tanks approaching the outskirts¹⁸ of Kyiv. This column contains armored vehicles, artillery, logistics support vehicles, and it's many, many miles long, so there remains a lot of peril¹⁹ for Ukrainians still in the capital city.

MARTINEZ: What does this mean for civilians on the ground?

MAK: Well, you know, the U.N. Refugee Agency now estimates more than half a million people have left Ukraine, and there are many, many more trying to find a way out. I went down to the train station in Lviv - that's in western Ukraine - and it's become a hub for Ukrainians trying to leave the country through Poland. Here's Pavlo Titko, a leader of a relief agency of the Order of Malta. That's a humanitarian²⁰ group that is feeding refugees on the ground here.

PAVLO TITKO: (Through interpreter) I think the situation is very bad because we are cut from Kyiv. The bridge is blown up, and we are short of supplies of flour.

MAK: He says he's concerned that in just a matter of a few short days, there will be widespread food shortages across this country, to say nothing of areas closer to the fighting.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Tim Mak in western Ukraine. Tim, thank you.

MAK: Thank you so much.

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 projectile   

n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的

参考例句：

• The vertical and horizontal motions of a projectile can be treated independently.抛射体的竖直方向和水平方向的运动能够分开来处理。
• Have you altered the plans of the projectile as the telegram suggests?你已经按照电报的要求修改炮弹图样了吗?

3 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。

4 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。

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

8 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

9 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。

10 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

11 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。

12 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

13 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。

14 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。

15 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

16 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

17 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。

18 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

19 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

20 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。