Topic: Ukrainian military long on morale but short on weaponry
When Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its support behind separatists in the country’s east more than seven years ago, Kyiv’s underfunded and disorganized armed forces struggled to mount a credible response.
七年多前，當俄羅斯吞併烏克蘭的克里米亞半島並支援該國東部的分離主義分子時，基輔資金不足且組織混亂的武裝部隊努力做出可信的回應。
Now, amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s border could signal a possible attack, military experts say Moscow would face stronger resistance this time.
現在，由於擔心俄羅斯軍隊在烏克蘭邊境附近的集結可能預示著可能的襲擊，軍事專家表示，莫斯科這次將面臨更強的抵抗。
But they emphasize that Ukraine would be well short of what it needs to counter Russia’s overwhelming superiority.
但他們強調，烏克蘭遠遠達不到對抗俄羅斯壓倒性優勢所需的水準。
Years of fighting the separatists have given Ukrainian veterans like Col. Viacheslav Vlasenko the battlefield experience for such a fight. "We Ukrainians are defending our land, and there is no place for us to retreat,’’ said Vlasenko.
分離主義分子多年的戰鬥為像維亞切斯拉夫·弗拉森科上校這樣的烏克蘭退伍軍人提供了這種戰鬥的戰場經驗。"我們烏克蘭人正在保衛我們的土地，我們沒有地方可以撤退，"弗拉森科說。
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Topic: Russia, US square off at UN over Ukraine crisis 俄美在聯合國就烏克蘭危機展開對決
Russia and the United States face off Monday at the UN Security Council over Moscow’s troop buildup on the Ukrainian border, as Western nations intensify their high-stakes diplomatic push to avert open conflict in Europe.
俄羅斯和美國週一在聯合國安理會就莫斯科在烏克蘭邊境的部隊集結對峙，因為西方國家加強了他們高風險的外交努力，以避免歐洲的公開衝突。
With tensions soaring, the United States has declared itself ready to push back against any "disinformation" Moscow put forward in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched United Nations sessions in years.
隨著緊張局勢的飆升，美國已宣佈準備反擊莫斯科在預計將是多年來最受關注的聯合國會議之一中提出的任何「虛假資訊」。
The US-requested Council meeting, at 1600 GMT, comes as fears grow of an imminent incursion into Ukraine, despite Kremlin denials.
美國要求在格林尼治標準時間1600點召開的安理會會議之際，儘管克裡姆林宮否認，但人們對即將入侵烏克蘭的擔憂日益加劇。
Russia was expected to try to block the 15-member Council from holding the meeting at all － with its envoy to the UN on Monday calling it part of a US bid to whip up "hysteria" over Ukraine.
預計俄羅斯將試圖阻止由15個成員組成的理事會舉行會議 - 其駐聯合國特使週一稱這是美國試圖煽動烏克蘭"歇斯底裡"的一部分。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1494094 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1499125
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Topic: Enemy at the gates: The background to the Ukraine crisis
At the core of the Ukraine crisis is a puzzle: Why would Russian President Vladimir Putin push Europe to the brink of war to demand the West not do something that it has no plan to do anyway? Russia says NATO, the American-led alliance that has on its hands the biggest European crisis in decades, must never offer membership to Ukraine, which gained independence as the Soviet Union broke apart about 30 years ago. Ukraine has long aspired to join NATO, but the alliance is not about to offer an invitation, due in part to Ukraine’s official corruption, shortcomings in its defense establishment and lack of control over its international borders.
烏克蘭危機的核心是一個謎：為什麼俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾·普京（Vladimir Putin）要把歐洲推向戰爭的邊緣，要求西方不要做一些它無論如何都沒有計劃做的事情？俄羅斯表示，北約是美國領導的聯盟，幾十年來最大的歐洲危機，絕不能向烏克蘭提供成員資格，烏克蘭在大約30年前蘇聯解體時獲得了獨立。烏克蘭長期以來一直渴望加入北約，但該聯盟不打算發出邀請，部分原因是烏克蘭官員腐敗，國防機構存在缺陷以及缺乏對其國際邊界的控制。
Putin’s demands go beyond the question of Ukraine’s association with NATO, but that link is central to his complaint that the West has pushed him to the limits of his patience by edging closer to Russian borders. He asserts that NATO expansion years ago has enhanced its security at the expense of Russia’s.
普京的要求超出了烏克蘭與北約的聯繫問題，但這種聯繫是他抱怨西方通過靠近俄羅斯邊境將他推向耐心極限的核心。他斷言，北約多年前的擴張以犧牲俄羅斯為代價加強了其安全。
Why is Putin worried about Ukraine joining NATO? The stated reason is that a further eastward expansion of NATO would pose a security threat to Russia. Washington and its allies deny this is a valid worry, since no NATO country is threatening to use force against Russia.
普京為什麼擔心烏克蘭加入北約？聲明的原因是北約進一步東擴將對俄羅斯構成安全威脅。華盛頓及其盟國否認這是一個合理的擔憂，因為沒有北約國家威脅要對俄羅斯使用武力。
More broadly, Putin wants NATO to pull back its existing military presence in Eastern Europe, which includes a regularly rotating series of exercises in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all former Soviet states.
更廣泛地說，普京希望北約撤回其在東歐的現有軍事存在，其中包括在立陶宛，拉脫維亞和愛沙尼亞等所有前蘇聯省份定期輪換的一系列演習。
Putin also opposes NATO’s missile defense presence in Romania, a former Soviet satellite state, and a similar base under development in Poland, saying they could be converted to offensive weapons capable of threatening Russia.
普京還反對北約在前蘇聯衛星國羅馬尼亞的導彈防禦存在，以及在波蘭正在開發的類似基地，稱它們可以轉化為能夠威脅俄羅斯的進攻性武器。
Ukraine has deep historical and cultural ties to Russia, and Putin has repeatedly asserted that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people.” He has said that large chunks of Ukrainian territory are historical parts of Russia that were arbitrarily granted to Ukraine by communist leaders under the Soviet Union.
烏克蘭與俄羅斯有著深厚的歷史和文化聯繫，普京一再斷言俄羅斯人和烏克蘭人是"一個民族"。他曾說過，烏克蘭的大部分領土是俄羅斯的歷史部分，是蘇聯領導下的共產主義領導人任意授予烏克蘭的。
Putin’s own actions, however, have served to strengthen Ukrainians’ sense of national identity. After Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula and instigated a rebellion in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Ukraine’s desire to align itself with the West and join NATO only grew.
然而，普京自己的行動有助於加強烏克蘭人的民族認同感。在俄羅斯佔領克里米亞半島並於2014年在烏克蘭東部煽動叛亂后，烏克蘭與西方結盟並加入北約的願望只會增長。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2022/02/15/2003773113
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Topic: In Europe, Doors Shut to Mideast Migrants Are Flung Open for Ukrainians
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed tens of thousands of people out of their homes and fleeing across borders to escape violence. But unlike the refugees who have flooded Europe in crises over the past decade, they are being welcomed.
俄羅斯對烏克蘭的入侵已將數萬人趕出家園，並越過邊境逃離暴力。但與過去十年來湧入歐洲危機的難民不同，他們受到了歡迎。
Countries that have for years resisted taking in refugees from wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are now opening their doors to Ukrainians as Russian forces carry out a nationwide military assault. More than 2.4 million refugees have left Ukraine, according to United Nations estimates, and at least half of them have crowded onto trains, jammed highways or walked to get across their country’s borders in what officials warn could become the world’s next refugee crisis.
多年來一直拒絕接收來自敘利亞，伊拉克和阿富汗戰爭的難民的國家現在正在向烏克蘭人敞開大門，因為俄羅斯軍隊在全國範圍內進行軍事攻擊。據聯合國估計，已有超過240萬難民離開烏克蘭，其中至少有一半擠在火車上，堵塞高速公路或步行到烏克蘭。越過他們國家的邊界，官員們警告說，這可能成為世界上下一個難民危機。
U.N. and U.S. officials described their concerted diplomatic push for Ukraine’s neighbors and other European nations to respond to the outpouring of need. President Joe Biden “is certainly prepared” to accept refugees from Ukraine, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said Thursday, but she noted that the majority of them would probably choose to remain in Europe so they could more easily return home once the fighting ended.
聯合國和美國官員描述了他們協調一致的外交努力，要求烏克蘭的鄰國和其他歐洲國家應對大量的需求。 白宮新聞秘書珍·普薩基（Jen Psaki）週四表示，總統喬·拜登（Joe Biden）"當然準備"接受來自烏克蘭的難民，但她指出，他們中的大多數人可能會選擇留在歐洲，這樣一旦戰鬥結束，他們就可以更容易地返回家園。
That means thousands will end up in countries led by nationalist governments that in past crises have been reluctant to welcome refugees or even blocked them.
這意味著成千上萬的人最終將進入由民族主義政府領導的國家，這些國家在過去危機中一直不願歡迎難民，甚至不願阻止他們。
In Poland, government officials assisted by American soldiers and diplomats have set up processing centers for Ukrainians. The Polish government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a border wall, a project it began after refugees and migrants from the Middle East tried to reach the country last year but ended up marooned in neighboring Belarus.
在波蘭，政府官員在美國士兵和外交官的協助下，為烏克蘭人建立了處理中心。波蘭政府正在花費數億美元修建邊境牆，該專案始於去年來自中東的難民和移民試圖到達該國，但最終被困在鄰國白俄羅斯。
The military in Hungary is allowing in Ukrainians through sections of the border that had been closed. Hungary’s hard-line prime minister, Viktor Orban, has previously called refugees a threat to his country, and his government has been accused of caging and starving them.
匈牙利軍方允許烏克蘭人通過已經關閉的部分邊界。匈牙利強硬派總理維克多·歐爾班（Viktor Orban）此前曾稱難民是對其國家的威脅，他的政府被指控將他們關在籠子里，使他們挨餓。
Farther west, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that “of course we will take in refugees if necessary” in light of the crisis in Ukraine.
在更遠的西部，奧地利總理卡爾·內哈默爾（Karl Nehammer）表示，鑒於烏克蘭的危機，"如有必要，我們當然會接納難民"。
As recently as last fall, when he was serving as interior minister, Nehammer sought to block some Afghans seeking refuge after the Taliban overthrew the government in Kabul.
就在去年秋天，當他擔任內政部長時，內哈默爾試圖阻止一些阿富汗人在塔利班推翻喀布爾政府后尋求庇護。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6158664