美国国家公共电台 NPR--Putin attempts to show he's not isolated with visits to Russian troops

Putin attempts to show he's not isolated¹ with visits to Russian troops

Transcript²

Russian President Vladimir Putin was attempting to demonstrate that he's not isolated "in a bunker" by meeting with commanders in two regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed³. That's the conclusion of Angela Stent, a senior adviser⁴ to the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and professor emerita of government and foreign service at Georgetown University.

The Kremlin's announcement that Putin had visited Kherson and Luhansk followed a leak of Pentagon documents that suggest infighting within the ranks of Russia's military. Moscow's federal security service, known as the FSB, estimates the number of dead and wounded Russian troops to be near 110,000.

Stent, who is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, tells NPR's Michel Martin on Morning Edition that Russian progress in a "grinding war of attrition" in Ukraine has been hindered by corruption⁵ in the military, poor training, and poorly maintained equipment.

Images of the Russian president's travel also offered a counterpoint to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's frequent visits to his country's troops. Zelenskyy traveled to the small eastern city of Avdiivka Tuesday to hear a battlefield briefing and thank Ukrainian troops for their services.

The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

This is a grinding war of attrition and the Russians have already lost a fifth of the territory that they've taken since they began the war in February of last year. And that's because of corruption in the Russian military. We know about that. The equipment is rusted⁶ and they haven't trained their recruits properly. So they have not made the kind of progress that they thought they would. And the Ukrainians have been fighting very valiantly⁷ back.

On the message Putin intended to send

He's been accused by some of the pro-war bloggers of kind of living in a bunker and not meeting with the troops. I think he wanted to show that he is not in a bunker and that he supports them., and in view of what we think will be an imminent⁸ Ukrainian counteroffensive, that he wants to support them. And also, President Zelenskyy, of course, is visiting his troops regularly. So I think it's also probably to show that Putin is not isolated from what's going on in the war.

On Russia's use of the court system to imprison⁹ critics and journalists

This is part of the war effort and it's really a message to the outside world, don't criticize us. It's a message to Russians, too - very important - we are going to prosecute¹⁰ this war and you have no right to question that. So this is part of Putin's real clampdown domestically since the war began last year.

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 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。

3 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

4 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。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 valiantly   

adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳

参考例句：

• He faced the enemy valiantly, shuned no difficulties and dangers and would not hesitate to lay down his life if need be. 他英勇对敌，不避艰险，赴汤蹈火在所不计。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Murcertach strove valiantly to meet the new order of things. 面对这个新事态，默克塔克英勇奋斗。 来自辞典例句

8 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

9 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

10 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？