Ukrainian forces aren't backing down, 5 days after Russian attacks began

Ukrainian forces aren't backing down, 5 days after Russian attacks began

Transcript¹

The Ukrainian military is continuing its defense² of the capital Kyiv, while Russian and Ukrainian delegations⁴ meet on the border with Belarus to try to find a diplomatic way out of the conflict.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

By resisting a Russian invasion, Ukrainians have rallied much of the world behind their cause. European leaders took a range of steps over the weekend. They blocked Russian airlines from their airspace and also promised more weapons for Ukraine. The United States intensified⁵ its economic sanctions. Russia's currency, the ruble, crashed in value when markets opened today, and Russia's Central Bank had to more than double interest rates today. The pain was great enough that President Vladimir Putin talked of putting nuclear weapons on a higher state of alert. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are now meeting just outside the country, though Ukraine's president says he doesn't expect too much. So how are people experiencing all of this inside Ukraine? We begin with NPR's Tim Mak, who is in Western Ukraine. Hey there, Tim.

TIM MAK, BYLINE⁶: Hey there.

INSKEEP: I want to mention that Kyiv, the capital, is still in Ukrainian hands. After five days of fighting here, Russian efforts to seize it quickly haven't worked. So what are the Russians trying now?

MAK: Well, so even as the Russian army advances on Kyiv, there's been this fear all along that Russian saboteurs might try to decapitate the leadership in the capital city in order to install their own regime. And that would be an easy way for the Russians to have control over the city. An adviser⁷ to the Ukrainian Ministry⁸ of Internal Affairs confirmed a report that in Kyiv there are hundreds of Russia-aligned mercenaries from the Wagner Group, this private military company, and they have orders to assassinate⁹ President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and overthrow¹⁰ the current government. And so these reports come as Ukrainians, who are really outmatched by the Russian military's numbers and firepowers, have made a stand to keep the capital out of Russian hands, at least for now.

As I speak to you now, Steve, more than four days after the start of this large-scale invasion, the city still hasn't fallen to Russian troops, defying these initial Western intelligence assessments¹¹ that it would fall in relatively¹² short order. So from the Ukrainian side, there's a real sign of hope. In the south, though, more land appears to be in Russian hands. But Ukrainian morale¹³ remains¹⁴ quite high. This country is very united right now. I had this exchange with a member of Ukraine's Territorial¹⁵ Defense here in Western Ukraine.

If you had a message for the Russian military and Vladimir Putin, what would it be?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Through interpreter) Go home because you will die here.

INSKEEP: Well, there's another slogan that can go along with President Zelenskyy's statement that he wanted ammunition¹⁶ and not a ride out of the capital. With that said, the president has approved a proposal to talk with the Russian side. What's happening?

MAK: A Ukrainian delegation³ has arrived on the border of Belarus for negotiations¹⁷ with Russia, but it's unclear just how serious this effort is. As you mentioned, neither side really seems to be holding out much hope for an agreement or breakthrough. Belarus is not exactly neutral territory, right? The Russian troops launched part of its assault on Kyiv from that territory, and the Belarussian government is very close to Putin's. The Ukrainian delegation has said that it's got two items on its agenda - an immediate¹⁸ cease-fire and the withdrawal¹⁹ of Russian troops. Russia has said they want Ukraine to declare neutrality and give up its quest to join NATO. So they're quite far apart, to put it mildly.

INSKEEP: Tim, I want to ask about civilians²⁰. We hear elsewhere in the program today from our colleague Leila Fadel. She is, of course, just across the border from Ukraine in Poland, talking with some of the many, many thousands of people who have fled Ukraine. But there must be a lot of civilians who are remaining where they are and trying to get through their days.

MAK: Well, civilians are facing a pretty bleak²¹ outlook. I spoke²² to Sofia Kryvushko. She's a college senior who left the northeastern city of Kharkiv, less than 30 miles from the Russian border. It faced heavy artillery²³ fire overnight.

SOFIA KRYVUSHKO: In Kharkiv, there is no food now. They can stand in the large queues for potato or something like that.

MAK: The U.N. has said more than 400,000 Ukrainian refugees have left the country.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Tim Mak. Thanks very much for your reporting on this day and many other days. He's in Western Ukraine. He's been in Ukraine since the shooting started the other day. Tim, thanks very much.

MAK: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

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 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 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。

9 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

10 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

11 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 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。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

16 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

17 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

18 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

19 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。

20 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。

21 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

22 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。

23 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。