Attacks continue in eastern Ukraine, but Moscow seems focused on land it has already claimed
Russian forces attacked settlements in eastern Ukraine from the ground and air, officials said on Thursday, in support of the Kremlin’s apparently scaled-back ambition of only securing the bulk of Ukrainian land it has claimed in the war.
英文词组：
in support of…: 为了支持…
scaled-back ambition of…: 把野心缩小到…
Fighting was underway along the entire line of demarcation in the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said 11 civilians were killed and a further 17 wounded in Ukraine on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given conflicting statements on the goals of the war since his Feb. 24 invasion, but is now clear the aims include some expansion of Russia’s borders, in contrast withcomments made at the start of the “special military operation,” when he said Moscow’s plans did not include the occupation of Ukrainian land.
英文词组：
expansion of sb’s borders: 扩大…的疆土
in contrast with：于…形成对比
Russia no longer speaks of changing Ukraine’s government
英文词组：
speak of: talk about
The Kremlin said on Thursday it was still set on securing at least the bulk of the parts of east and south Ukraine that it has claimed as its own, but appeared to give up on seizing other territory in the west and northeast that Ukraine has recaptured in a steady reversal of early Russian gains.
The Kremlin no longer speaks of trying to force a change of government in Kyiv.
英文词组：
no longer：不再
Putin vowed Thursday to fight on regardless of Western reaction.
英文词组：
regardless of: 无论如何
“It’s enough for us to make a move and there is a lot of noise, chatter and outcry all across the universe,” Putin said. “It will not obstruct us from fulfilling combat tasks.”
英文词组：
make a move: 采取行动
obstruct sb. from: 阻止某人做…
fulfilling task: 完成任务
He described a series of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities and other key infrastructure as alegitimate response to a bombing attack on a key bridge linking Crimea with Russia’s mainland, and other attacks the Kremlin said were carried out by Ukraine. Putin also cited Ukraine’s move to halt water supplies to the areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia.
英文词组：
as a response to…: 作为对…的回应
carry out: 执行
“There is a lot of noise now about our strikes on the energy infrastructure,” Putin said at a meeting with soldiers whom he decorated with the country’s top medals. “Yes, we are doing it. But who did start it? Who did strike the Crimean bridge? Who did blow up power lines linked to the Kursk nuclear power plant?”
英文词组：
decorated with…: 被授予
blew up： 炸毁
On Wednesday, Putin said Russia had already achieved a “significant result” with the acquisition of “new territories” — a reference to the annexation of four partly occupied regions in September that Kyiv and most members of the United Nations condemned as illegal.
英文词组：
condemned as： 被谴责是…
Warning that the war could be lengthy, Putin said Russia had made the Sea of Azov its “internal sea,” now bounded by Russia and Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine including Crimea.
英文词组：
Warning that…, sb. said…: 某人警告称…
He said that had been an aspiration of Peter the Great — the 17th- and 18th-century warrior tsar to whom he has compared himself in the past.
Zelenskyy says his troops will eventually drive Russia from all the captured territory, including the annexed Crimean peninsula that sits between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
英文词组：
drive…from…: 把…从…驱离
On Thursday, Russian naval forces shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea, said the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, an important port and the largest city in Crimea.
英文词组：
shot down: 击落
Earlier this week, twin strikes on air bases deep inside Russian territory dealt Moscow a reputational blowand raised questions about why its defences failed, as attention turned to the use of drones in the war between neighbours.
英文词组：
deal … a reputational blew: 打击了…的声誉
raise questions about: 引发对…问题的质疑
Hundreds of kilometres away, across Ukraine’s northern border, Russian soldiers were preparing for fighting in winter conditions by taking part in tactical training exercises in Moscow’s close ally Belarus, the Russian defence ministry said.
英文词组：
taking part in:参与…
A flurry of Russian diplomatic and military activity in Belarus in recent weeks has revived fears that Moscow is pressing its ally to get more involved in the Ukraine war.
英文词组：
a flurry of…: 一阵，一系列…
revive fear that…: 再次引起恐慌， 即…
President Alexander Lukashenko, who relied on Russian troops to put down a popular revolt two years ago, has allowed his country to serve as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion of their common neighbour.
英文词组：
put down:镇压
popular revolt: 民众起义
He has so far kept his own army from joining in, but recent weeks have seen increasing signs of involvement in Belarus from Moscow.
英文词组：
Keep…from…: 阻止…做…
From: CBC News