VOA标准英语2014--Deadly Attacks In Donetsk Test Ukraine Peace Deal

 

Deadly Attacks In Donetsk Test Ukraine Peace Deal

MARIUPOL, UKRAINE— 

After a series of attacks by pro-Moscow militia¹, Ukraine’s prime minister has accused Russia of failing to honor the cease-fire agreement signed on September 5. At least nine Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the last two days. Tentative peace deal appears to be holding despite the violence.

Putting new equipment to the test - soldiers from Ukraine’s National Guard opened fire on a test model of a new armored vehicle Tuesday, at an army base outside Kyiv. Commanders hope it will give them more protection on patrol during anti-separatist operations in eastern Ukraine.

Watching the demonstration² was Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. He accused Russia of failing to honor the cease-fire deal signed in Minsk in September.

"A cease-fire is when nobody is attacking and nobody is dying,” he said, adding that “Russia signed 12 points on the Minsk memorandum³ and should fulfill⁴ every point of it. Words and deeds are too far apart in Russia.”

Pro-Moscow rebels launched an offensive against government forces at Donetsk airport Monday - a key battleground in recent weeks. The Kremlin denies it’s giving the rebels military support.

One condition of the cease-fire is being met - the exchange of prisoners held by both sides. But Kyiv accuses the separatists of stretching the peace deal to the breaking point. Colonel Andriy Lysenko is spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense⁵ Council.

"Over 1,000 hostages have been released during the cease-fire, adding that they are seeing more shootings and more attacks by separatists and pro-Russian rebels," he said.

In a provocative⁶ move, residents tore down a statue of former Soviet⁷ ruler Vladimir Lenin in the eastern city of Kharkiv Sunday. Pro-Russians in the city had defended the statue earlier this year when several others were being destroyed across Ukraine.  Leonid Onischenko was among the crowd cheering the demolition⁸.

"It was an insult having the statue here”, he said. “We are an independent country and we have a monument to the former leader of the neighboring state, which attacked us at least three times in the last century, and now in this century."

A column of tanks and armored vehicles - free of insignia, except for the flag of the separatists' self-styled Donetsk People’s Republic - was seen traveling through Makiivka on the outskirts⁹ of Donetsk Monday. Kyiv says only Russia could be supplying such military hardware.

1 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。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

4 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

5 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。

6 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

9 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。