12月7日美俄总统举行视频会晤,关键话题是乌克兰局势。围绕俄乌关系，两国近期唇枪舌剑互不相让，普京否认有入侵乌克兰的意图，但对西方国家向乌克兰提供军事援助体现强烈不满。随着乌克兰紧张局势升温，美国施压，一旦俄军入侵乌克兰，俄罗斯通往德国的“北溪2号”，这条海底天然气管道可能被中断。俄方表示，双方应趁一切还不晚，努力避免欧洲出现新的导弹危机。
图片来源：Reuters网站
These deployments, partnered with verbal threats and war games happening within striking distance of Ukraine, don’t bode well for peace in Eastern Europe.
这些部署，再加上口头威胁和发生在乌克兰近距离范围的军事演习，对东欧的和平来说不是吉兆。
（英文摘自2021.12.11 BuzzFeed News网站）
The news of Mr Putin sending in this deadly weapon does not bode well for peace talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine.
普京提供这种致命武器的消息对于俄罗斯、美国和乌克兰之间的和平谈判不是好兆头。
（英文摘自2021.12.13 Daily Express网站）
“Biden will have to offer Putin some sort of an off-ramp to deescalate the situation,” Said Rachel Ellehuus, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. On the decision to engage, she said, “It keeps people talking and avoids the worse consequence which is military confrontation.”
战略与国际问题研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS)高级研究员雷切尔·埃勒胡斯(Rachel Ellehuus)表示“拜登将不得不给普京某种出路以缓和局势”。关于进行会谈的决定，她认为“这让人们继续对话，以避免更糟糕的后果，即军事对抗。”
（英文摘自2021.12.07 Al Jazeera网站）
图片来源：AP网站
The message could hardly have been clearer: Ukrainians have no interest in cozying up to Russia and will never give up on integrating with the West.
信息传达得很清楚：乌克兰人对讨好俄罗斯没有兴趣，永远不会放弃与西方的融合。
（英文摘自2021.12.10 Foreign Affairs网站）
Since the 2014 annexation, there has been a proxy war in the Donbas region of Ukraine between Russian-backed forces and the Ukrainian government.
自2014年吞并乌克兰以来，俄罗斯支持的军队和乌克兰政府在乌克兰顿巴斯地区爆发了代理人战争。
（英文摘自2021.12.09 CBS News网站）
图片来源：Shutterstock 网站
Ever since Russia annexed Crimea seven years ago, Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting a proxy war in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
自7年前俄罗斯吞并克里米亚以来，乌克兰和俄罗斯军队一直在乌克兰顿巴斯地区进行代理人战争。
（英文摘自2021.12.11 The Week网站）
Mr Biden told reporters the possibility of sending US ground combat troops to Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion was “never on the table”, although the United States and NATO would be required to send in more forces to eastern flank NATO countries to beef up their defences.
拜登告诉记者，在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的情况下，向乌克兰派遣地面作战部队的可能性“从未被提上日程”，尽管美国和北约将被要求向东部北约国家派遣更多部队，以加强他们的防御。
（英文摘自2021.12.12 The Australian Financial Review网站）
图片来源：The Economist网站
“The Kremlin has clearly helped to manufacture a European energy crisis to coerce our allies to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and undermine democratic institutions,” their letter continues. “To counter Russia’s clear and ongoing weaponization of energy, Congress has voted three times on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis to place sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
“克里姆林宫显然帮助制造了一场欧洲能源危机，以迫使我们的盟友完成北溪2号(Nord Stream 2)管道工程，破坏民主制度。”他们在信中写道，为了对抗俄罗斯明确的、正在进行的能源武器化，国会在两党压倒性基础上三次投票对北溪2号项目实施制裁。
（英文摘自2021.12.13 Ripon advance网站）
