VOA新闻杂志2022--俄罗斯袭击了敖德萨重要港口,目标是补给线

Russia Attacks Odesa, Targeting Supply Lines

Ukrainian officials say Russian troops are again attacking the port city of Odesa. They said Russian forces appear to be trying to destroy supply lines and weapons shipments² needed for the defense³ of Kyiv.

Ukraine has been able to block the larger and better-armed Russian military. That has surprised observers who expected a quick war. Now the war is in its 11th week.

Ukrainian forces are keeping Russia's troops from moving forward and are organizing a counteroffensive. Ukraine appears to be expanding its goals beyond pushing Russia back to areas its allies⁴ controlled on the day of the invasion. Russia's military action began on February 24.

The Ukrainian military said Tuesday that Russian forces fired seven missiles a day at Ukraine's largest port, Odesa. Officials said the missiles hit a storage building and a shopping center. One person was killed and five were wounded, the military said.

Odesa's mayor visited the warehouse⁵ and said it "had nothing in common with military infrastructure⁶ or military objects."

Russian forces failed to take the capital Kyiv in the early days of the war. Since then, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have changed his goal to capturing Ukraine's eastern industrial center called the Donbas. But one general has suggested Russia's aims include cutting off Ukraine from the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

That would give Russia an area that would connect it to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014. It might also be connected to Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway territory in Moldova.

Russia is continuing to strike Odesa because of its importance as a port. The Russian military has targeted the city's airport and claimed that it has destroyed several shipments of Western weapons.

Odesa is also a major port for grain shipment¹. Russia's blockade is threatening food supplies in many parts of the world. The city is also a cultural center important to both Ukrainians and Russians. Attacking the city carries additional meaning.

With Russian forces struggling in the Donbas, military experts suggest that hitting Odesa might serve to bring more attention to southwestern Ukraine. That would force Ukraine to send forces there and pull them away from the eastern front. Ukraine's military is making a counteroffensive near the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Ukraine's foreign minister sounded hopeful because Russia's military movement has slowed.

"In the first months of the war the victory for us looked like withdrawal⁷ of Russian forces to the positions they occupied before February 24," Dmytro Kuleba told The Financial Times newspaper. "Now if we are strong enough on the military front ... the victory for us in this war will be the liberation⁸ of the rest of our territories."

The statement suggests that Ukraine wants to try to retake Crimea and areas of the Donbas taken by separatists supported by Russia.

Some military experts note that Russia is not able to make quick gains in Ukraine. But they warn that the Ukrainian military is not strong enough to drive the Russians back.

Words in This Story

counteroffensive — n. a military attack ordered to defend against an enemy or opponent

infrastructure — n. the basic equipment and structures such as roads and ports needed for a country or group to operate

blockade — n. an act of war in which one country uses ships to stop people or supplies from entering or leaving another country or area

liberate⁹ — v. to free people or territory from control by another group

1 shipment   

n.装货，装载的货物

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment.货物已打包以备装船。
• Please advise the date of shipment as soon as possible.请尽快通知装货日期。

2 shipments   

船运，水运( shipment的名词复数 )； （从海路、陆路或空运的）一批货物

参考例句：

• The shipments are being expedited as much as possible. 装货速度在尽量加快。
• We received two shipments from Chicago. 我们收到从芝加哥运来的两船货物。

3 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。

4 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

5 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

6 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。

7 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。

8 liberation   

n.解放，解放运动（为获得平等权利和地位的行为）

参考例句：

• We should help those who are still struggling for liberation.我们应当帮助那些仍在为独立而斗争的人们。
• Many people died during famines every year before liberation.解放前每年有许多人在饥荒中死亡。

9 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。