VOA新闻杂志2023--Ukrainian Forces Take Heart Seeing Problems in Russia

Ukrainian Forces Take Heart Seeing Problems in Russia

In Russia, the armed rebellion against the government ended in less than 24 hours. However, the apparent disorder¹ within the Russian military might help Ukrainian troops. It has also improved morale².

Yevgeny Prigozhin is leader of the Wagner group, a group of military fighters who are not part of Russia's military but worked with it in the past. Prigozhin attempted what is being called a mutiny in the Russian military city of Rostov-on-Don late last week. Russia's struggle to protect Moscow were met with cheers by Ukraine's military commanders, said a spokesperson, Serhii Cherevatiy.

"Any chaos³ and disorder on the enemy's side benefits us," he said.

More statements from Ukraine's top commanders described the situation as a sign of more problems to come.

The crisis ended with a deal that would send Prigozhin into exile in Belarus. But Ukrainians were watching closely. They said that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to a deal hours after calling Prigozhin a traitor⁴ made him appear weak.

The crisis did not seem to affect Russia's army along the 1,000-kilometer front line in eastern Ukraine. But it could give Ukraine the energy it needs to strengthen the beginning of its expected counteroffensive. Military leaders have said it is going slower than expected.

Nigel Gould-Davies is a military expert at the International Institute for Strategic Affairs based in London. He said the crisis kept attention away from the war in the short-term. In the longer term, it shows a lack of unity⁵ among Russia's soldiers.

"It's terrible for Russia's morale. The officers and soldiers alike. It's very good for Ukraine's morale," Gould-Davies said.

Andrii Kvasnytsia is a 50-year-old Ukrainian soldier. "Everyone is excited," he said.

Hanna Malyar is Ukraine's deputy defense⁶ minister. She said as Wagner troops marched towards Moscow, Ukraine made progress in several directions along the front line where fighting has been going on for weeks. She said Russian gains were stopped further to the north.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last week that a new reserve army would be formed by the end of June. The new troops would strengthen Russia's military along the Ukrainian front. Russia has sent 90 percent of its forces there and they already outnumber Ukrainian fighters.

Experts say the Ukrainians need to remain quick and ready to change plans to hurt Russia along the front line.

With modern NATO weapons systems, strong morale is important to perform well.

Ukrainian commanders told their fighters they had indirectly⁷ caused the problems in Russia. Cherevatiy said, "The heroes of Bakhmut who held the city for 10 months and exhausted⁸ the enemy" are responsible for this.

The truth is more complex, however. The conflict between Prigozhin and the Russian military leadership began before the invasion. Wagner's effectiveness compared to the regular army's raised Prigozhin's popularity. It may have led him to go ahead with the rebellion.

In Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia area on Sunday, soldiers fired at Russian targets from their positions. They directed their anger at Russia with each shell.

Words in This Story

morale — n. a feeling of hope and loyalty⁹ that a person or group has about a job or task

mutiny — n. a situation in which a group of people in an organization refuse to take orders and try to seize control from their commanders

chaos — n. a state of complete disorder and lawlessness

benefit –v. to be good for; to aid or help

traitor — n. a person who is not loyal to their country; a person who does something against the interests of their own people and supports the enemy

exhausted — adj. having spent one's energy; extremely tired; used up

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 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。

7 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

8 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。