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　　PENTAGON — The intensifying¹ violence in eastern Ukraine -- and fears of increased Russian involvement -- have gripped the attention of both the United States and Europe.

　　Officials are now intensely working on a response to calm tensions across the region, even as President Barack Obama spoke² again with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about the crisis.

　　European ministers arriving for talks in Luxembourg, wary³ of the violent turn of events in eastern Ukraine, had no problem placing blame Monday. British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, is pointing his finger squarely at Moscow.

　　"It has all the appearances of a further gross, deliberate and premeditated violation⁴ of the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine," he said.

　　Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is equally blunt.

　　“So far they've been escalating⁵, and if they continue to escalate⁶, I think we should escalate," he said.

　　Which is what they did, by agreeing to expand sanctions and visa bans against Russia.

　　Even as Europe moved for more actions, the U.S. military announced a Russian fighter jet, like these, made 12 low-altitude, close-range passes near the USS Donald Cook while patrolling international waters in the Black Sea Saturday.

　　Pentagon officials said the Russian jet was not armed with missiles but called the actions “provocative and unprofessional.

　　In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hit back… accusing the West of encouraging Kyiv to crack down.

　　"This is an extremely dangerous development of the events, and those who encourage the current Kyiv authorities to act that way should bear full responsibility," he said.

　　Lavrov also questioned what U.S. spy chief John Brennan was doing in Kyiv this past weekend, a trip White House spokesman Jay Carney defended as “standard,” to promote security cooperation, warning Russia to step back:

　　“I can assure you that Russia’s provocations⁸ - further transgressions⁹ and provocation⁷ - will come with a cost,” he said.

　　Like the European Union, the U.S. says it is prepared to ramp¹⁰ up sanctions and, Monday, also announced a $1 billion loan guarantee for Ukraine.

　　Yet military aid - requested by Ukraine - has not been forthcoming - -- even as NATO worries about the massing of Russian troops along the border.

　　“It’s a question in which we hopefully do not revert¹¹ to a Cold War in the sense really of the Western countries pairing up against Russia because Russian assistance in many worldwide situations is still very important,” said former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar.

　　For now, though, there are plenty of questions in the West about just how far Russia will go.

　　“These are not peaceful protesters, this is an armed force," said U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt who spoke to VOA’s Russian Service. "And I think there is a real risk that their actions could precipitate¹² greater violence and any bloodshed, of course, is something that the United States will oppose.

　　All the while, the tensions in Ukraine continue to rise.

1 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

2 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。

3 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

6 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

7 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

8 provocations   

n.挑衅( provocation的名词复数 )；激怒；刺激；愤怒的原因

参考例句：

• We cannot ignore such provocations. 对于这种挑衅，我们不能置之不理。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They must immediately cease all their provocations. 他们必须停止一切挑衅。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网

10 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

11 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

12 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。