美国国家公共电台 NPR--Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have died in the battle for Bakhmut

Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have died in the battle for Bakhmut

Transcript¹

As Russia advances on Bakhmut, the loved ones of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war's longest battle mourn at an ever-growing cemetery² in Kyiv, and pin their hopes on an imminent³ counteroffensive.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, fighting has killed thousands of soldiers on both sides. Loved ones have fallen. Ukrainians say they're hoping that a spring counteroffensive will push out the Russians. NPR's Joanna Kakissis reports.

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE⁴: Six months ago, 39-year-old Oleksandr Onyshchenko died defending Bakhmut.

TAMARA ONYSHCHENKO: (Non-English language spoken).

KAKISSIS: His mother, Tamara Onyshchenko often visits his grave at one of three cemeteries⁵ in Kyiv that allows military burials. This past Sunday, on an Orthodox Christian⁶ day of remembrance, when Ukrainians honor the dead with flowers and food, she brought him a Tupperware of his favorite, cabbage dumplings.

ONYSHCHENKO: (Through interpreter) We steamed the dumplings just the way he likes them. Though we are the ones eating, I believe he is able to enjoy it.

KAKISSIS: She does not notice she's speaking about him in the present tense until she shows me his photo.

I can see that he's your son. He has the same nice smile and eyes.

ONYSHCHENKO: Mav.

KAKISSIS: Mav - had the same smile, she says, and she hides her face. She's crying.

ONYSHCHENKO: (Through interpreter) We really, really want to believe that all of those who have died have not died in vain because if there is no victory, then all of those people who are buried here died for no reason.

KAKISSIS: Not far away, a tall, bearded soldier named Viktor Shepelia is wiping away his own tears as he talks to the grave of his friend and fellow soldier Vasiliy. He lights a cigarette and sticks it in the sand on the grave, as if offering it to Vasiliy to smoke. He also fills up a small paper cup with scotch⁷ and sets it next to the cigarette.

VIKTOR SHEPELIA: It's my brother - not by blood, but by spirit.

KAKISSIS: By spirit - were you together in the battalion⁸?

SHEPELIA: Yeah.

KAKISSIS: Yeah. Shepelia broke his back and shattered his leg fighting in Bakhmut, and he's still recovering in Kyiv. He's from a village in Ukraine's east in the Donetsk region, which Russian proxies⁹ took over in 2014. He says he's tired of Russian propagandists calling him and other Ukrainian soldiers Nazis¹⁰.

SHEPELIA: So they think that we are total nationalist, totally fascist¹¹.

KAKISSIS: Ironic¹² because, he says...

SHEPELIA: I'm Russian-speaking Jewish from Donetsk.

KAKISSIS: He says he does not regret fighting in Bakhmut, even though it is clearly exhausting his fellow soldiers and the country in general. A few miles away in central Kyiv, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser¹³ to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, says Ukraine's nine-month defense¹⁴ of Bakhmut has also cost the Russians dearly.

MYKHAILO PODOLYAK: (Through interpreter) Defending Bakhmut proves what Ukraine is about, that it will defend every inch of its land. And it's not just to prove this to ourselves. We also want to show our Western partners that this is who we are and why we will stand to the end.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAKISSIS: Back at the cemetery, musician Serhiy Sukhomlyn is playing a stringed instrument called the bandura to honor the dead. He says he's lost several friends in Bakhmut. And even though Russia's invasion has united most Ukrainians, he worries a long war could wear down that resolve.

SERHIY SUKHOMLYN: (Through interpreter) There are a lot of people who think, who are we without Russia? They are quiet now, but they could start raising their heads again.

KAKISSIS: Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv.

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 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

3 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。

4 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。

5 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

8 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

9 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

10 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

12 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

13 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。

14 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。