VOA新闻杂志--俄方称近千名乌克兰士兵在亚速钢铁厂“投降”

Russia: Nearly 1,000 Ukraine Soldiers Surrender at Mariupol Factory

Russia says that nearly 1,000 Ukrainian troops who defended a large steel factory in Mariupol have surrendered.

The announcement Wednesday comes as the battle for the strategic port city appeared to be over.

Ukraine refuses to call the action a surrender. The factory had been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance throughout the war.

It is unclear what will happen to the remaining soldiers defending the Azovstal factory. Ukraine hopes for a prisoner exchange, but Russia has said some could be investigated for war crimes.

Both sides are trying to win propaganda victories from what has been one of the most important and deadly battles of the war.

"There can be just one interpretation¹: The troops holed up at Azovstal are laying down their weapons and surrendering," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

Russian Defense² Ministry³ video has shown Ukrainian troops carrying out their wounded and being checked for weapons.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the war has not gone well. After failing to capture the capital, Kyiv, in the early days of the war, Putin's troops pulled back. Possible war crimes have been exposed, creating widespread anger and increasing Western opposition⁴ to the war.

Ukraine has already begun trying soldiers for war crimes. In the first trial, a Russian soldier pleaded guilty to killing⁵ a Ukrainian citizen. He faces up to life in prison.

Putin is now hoping to capture the eastern industrial part of Ukraine, called the Donbas. But Russian troops have not made progress.

Also, Sweden and Finland are deciding to join the NATO military alliance. Finland and Sweden could become members within months. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to block their acceptance. Other members of the 30-country alliance want to move quickly.

Only the factory remained for Russia to declare its capture of Mariupol. Mariupol would give Russia a land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. It also would permit the Russian military to place its full attention on battles in the east and south of Ukraine.

For Ukraine, the plant's surrender could leave President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government open to claims that the troops at the factory were abandoned. Zelenskyy had called the troops heroes.

"There have been voices of discontent and accusations⁶ of betraying Ukrainian soldiers," said Volodymyr Fesenko. He is the head of Penta, a research group in Kyiv.

He also warned that a prisoner exchange may not happen.

Russia says it will try to "identify the nationalists" among the Ukrainian soldiers and determine whether they were involved in crimes against civilians⁷. Russia's top government lawyer asked the country's Supreme⁸ Court to name Ukraine's Azov Regiment⁹ as a terrorist organization. They were among the troops that defended the Azovstal factory.

Some Azovstal fighters were taken to a former prison colony in territory controlled by Russian-supported separatists. Their legal situation is not clear.

Russia targeted Mariupol at the beginning of the war. The city was largely destroyed. Ukraine says over 20,000 civilians have been killed there. During the attacks, Russian forces launched deadly airstrikes on a hospital. Another strike hit a theater where civilians had taken shelter.

Words in This Story

strategic — adj. related to a general plan to reach a long-term political or military goal

interpretation — n. a way of explaining a situation or happening

abandon — v. to stop supporting or helping someone

1 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

2 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。

3 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。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 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。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。