There are signals that the Kremlin's objectives in Ukraine may be changing

There are signals that the Kremlin's objectives in Ukraine may be changing

　　Transcript¹

　　A month into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces appear not to be trying to take the capital Kyiv anymore. But there are increased attacks against the western city of Lviv and other cities.

　　RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

　　After a month of fighting, Ukrainian officials suggest that Russia may be redefining its goals. The head of Ukrainian intelligence says Russia is hoping to split the country in two, leaving the west to Ukraine and the eastern provinces to Russia. Russian and Ukrainian officials restart talks today. In a moment, we're going to speak with the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democratic Senator Jack² Reed. But first, NPR's Elissa Nadworny is in Lviv, Ukraine.

　　ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE³: So the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence said this new strategy is basically splitting Ukraine in two. You know, they called it, quote, "a Korean scenario⁴" by creating a separate political entity⁵ in the Russian-occupied regions in the east. But Ukrainian officials are pushing for more negotiations⁶ with Russia, including over this disputed territory.

　　MARTIN: And the argument there being that there are - there's a significant Russian population in the east...

　　NADWORNY: Exactly.

　　MARTIN: ...And that Russia would seek some kind of referendum to take those regions into their own control. Can you tell us, what is the state of the war at this point?

　　NADWORNY: Yeah. Well, the Russian assault on Kyiv, at least for now, seems to be on hold. But they are still hitting the cities, like Mariupol in the south and Chernihiv in the north, really hard. I mean, both places have been bombarded in the first month of fighting.

　　MARTIN: We saw over the weekend, though, an attack in the west, which has really been a safe haven⁷ for the Ukrainian diplomats⁸, foreign diplomats, journalists.

　　NADWORNY: That's right.

　　MARTIN: And this seemed to breach⁹ that security.

　　NADWORNY: That's right. You know, they hit several strategic locations in the west, mainly a number of fuel storage facilities, a military repair facility. Those are places in Lviv, where it's been relatively¹⁰ safe. The missile strikes also happened as President Biden was just across the border in Poland. And the Lviv mayor actually called it a hello to Biden. So that's kind of going on in the background of the shift of strategy.

　　MARTIN: I want to ask about the repercussions¹¹ from President Biden's speech that he gave in Warsaw when he uttered these - this phrase wasn't in the prepared remarks, but he essentially¹² said that Vladimir Putin needed to go. What's been the reaction to that?

　　NADWORNY: Well, you know, most Ukrainians are actually more focused on the substance of his speech. They're actually a little disappointed. They want a no-fly zone to close the air so that the Russian military can't bomb. You know, after that speech, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appealed to Western leaders again for more help. He wants better, more sophisticated antiaircraft systems.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).

　　NADWORNY: Here he is saying, you know, "you can't shoot down missiles with machine guns." Zelenskyy has long pleaded for a no-fly zone. That's not really a - that's a no-go area for NATO, you know, because, in part, they don't know what the response will be like from a nuclear-armed Russia.

　　MARTIN: Meanwhile, it's just a humanitarian¹³ disaster there. The numbers coming out of the U.N. are staggering. Upwards¹⁴ of 3 million people now have been forced to flee, 10 million displaced from their homes. Is that right?

　　NADWORNY: That's right. You know, Ukrainian officials are working to establish more evacuation routes, with some success over the weekend from places like Mariupol.

　　Alina Beskrovna recently fled to Mariupol, where she was trapped there for weeks. She spoke¹⁵ to my colleague Debbie Elliott.

　　ALINA BESKROVNA: We would haul water from a well about three miles away. We would cook on open fires under very heavy shelling. We stayed in the most inner part of the basement just hoping to survive.

　　NADWORNY: She says there were 36 people down in the basement, 12 kids. They ate lunch by flashlight. She says her hands are scratched and burned from cooking over that open fire. She's here now in Lviv, but she's looking to leave Ukraine soon.

　　MARTIN: All right. NPR's Elissa Nadworny reporting from Lviv. Thank you so much.

　　NADWORNY: You bet.

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 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 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。

4 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

5 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

6 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。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

10 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。

11 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

15 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。