近期，以美国和德国为首的几个西方国家表示，他们将向乌克兰派遣坦克特遣队。美国将提供31辆M1A1艾布拉姆斯主战坦克，德国将提供14辆豹式主战坦克。欧美媒体透露，为推动德国痛下决心提供主战坦克，拜登政府决定提供艾布拉姆斯主战坦克。1. contingents of tanks 坦克特遣队
The leaders of the United States and Germany each announced Wednesday they will send contingents of tanks to Ukraine, reversing their longstanding trepidation at providing Kyiv with offensive armored vehicles and unleashing powerful new tools in Ukraine’s efforts to retake territory seized by Russia.美国和德国领导人周三分别宣布，他们将向乌克兰派遣坦克特遣队，扭转了他们长期以来对向基辅提供进攻性装甲车辆的畏惧态度，并为乌克兰夺回被俄罗斯夺取的领土的努力提供了强有力的新工具。After longstanding pressure from NATO allies, Germany agreed in January to send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine — a move that Kyiv hopes will be a game-changer on the battlefield. The decision of leaders from the US and Germany to send contingents of tanks to Ukraine marks a major moment of the nearly year-long war.在北约盟国的长期压力下，德国于1月同意向乌克兰派遣14辆豹2坦克——基辅希望此举能改变战场上的游戏规则。美国和德国领导人决定向乌克兰派遣坦克特遣队，标志着这场持续近一年的战争的一个重要时刻。
▲图片来源：The Economist
2. longstanding resistance长久性抵制The announcement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he will send Leopard 2 tanks was coupled with an announcement from US President Joe Biden that he was providing 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, reversing the administration’s longstanding resistance to requests from Kyiv for the highly sophisticated but maintenance-heavy vehicles.
在德国总理奥拉夫·舒尔茨宣布将派遣豹2坦克的同时，美国总统乔·拜登也宣布向乌克兰提供31辆M1艾布拉姆斯坦克，扭转了美国政府长期以来对基辅要求提供这种十分先进但维修量大的车辆的抵制。（英文摘自2023.1.26 New York Times 网站）The U.S. and Germany each announced they would send tanks to Ukraine, after months of longstanding resistance to the Ukrainian government's repeated requests. Germany also said other countries, like Poland, can give Ukraine their German-made Leopard 2 tanks.美国和德国分别宣布将向乌克兰运送坦克，而此前乌克兰政府的多次请求遭到了抵制。德国还表示，其他国家，如波兰，可以向乌克兰提供他们的德制豹2坦克。3. offensive armored vehicles 进攻性装甲载具If “giving” 31 less fuel-efficient U.S. tanks is the price of persuading Germany to allow Ukraine to potentially receive hundreds of more offensive armored vehicles, that is a sensible trade.如果“赠送”31辆燃油效率较低的美国坦克是说服德国允许乌克兰可能获得数百辆进攻性装甲载具的代价，这是一个明智的交易。4. working in lockstep 步调一致
The dispute over whether the Germans would send Leopards to support Ukraine threatened to show some of the first cracks in the united Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the announcement from Scholz and Biden show the US and its allies are still working in lockstep when it comes to supporting President Volodymyr Zelensky and his nation’s fight against the Russians.关于德国人是否会派豹式坦克支持乌克兰的争议，有可能使西方对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的联合反应出现一些裂痕。但舒尔茨和拜登的声明表明，在支持乌克兰总统泽连斯基及其国家与俄罗斯的斗争方面，美国及其盟友仍保持步调一致。Biden concluded it was important to work in lockstep with an ally, despite the Pentagon’s misgivings, and put an end to the dispute. Backed by some of his top aides, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Biden early this week agreed to send 31 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine.拜登认为，尽管五角大楼有疑虑，但必须与一个盟友步调一致地采取行动，结束争端。在包括国防部长劳埃德-奥斯汀在内的一些高级助手的支持下，拜登本周初同意向乌克兰运送31辆艾布拉姆斯主战坦克。（英文摘自2023.2.2 Bloomberg 网站）5. come with pros and cons 有利有弊
Germany had initially resisted a growing drumbeat of Western pressure to ship some of the tanks to Ukraine, with new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius repeatedly calling for more time and insisting that the move would come with pros and cons for Berlin.德国最初抵制了西方越来越大的要求将部分坦克运往乌克兰的压力，德国新任国防部长鲍里斯-皮斯托瑞斯一再呼吁给予更多时间，并坚持认为此举对柏林有利有弊。（英文摘自2023.2.27 The Washington Post 网站）“There are good reasons for a delivery, and there are good reasons against it. And in light of the overall situation of the war, which has lasted nearly a year already, that comes with pros and cons and must be weighed very carefully,” Pistorius said.“有很好的理由予以支持，也有很好的理由进行反对。”皮斯托瑞斯说，“考虑到已经持续了近一年的战争的总体情况，必须非常仔细地权衡所有的利弊”。
6. low-maintenance demands 低维护需求
Although Ukraine has stocks of Soviet-era tanks, modern Western tanks provide a greater level of speed and agility. In particular, the Leopard’s relatively low-maintenance demands compared to other models lead experts to believe the tanks could help Ukraine quickly on the battlefield.虽然乌克兰有苏联时期的坦克库存，但现代西方坦克提供了更高的速度和灵活性。特别是与其他型号相比，豹式坦克的维护要求相对较低，这使专家们相信，这种坦克可以在战场上迅速帮助到乌克兰。The vast number of units already based near Ukraine, and the Leopard’s relatively low-maintenance demands compared to other models, lead experts to believe the tanks could help Ukraine quickly.鉴于在乌克兰附近已经部署有大量豹式坦克，以及与其他型号相比豹式坦克相对较低的维护要求，这使专家们相信这些坦克可以迅速帮助到乌克兰。
For months, Ukraine has been asking Western allies to supply tanks, and although these vehicles are less powerful, the decision to send them sets a new precedent.几个月来，乌克兰一直要求西方盟友提供坦克，尽管这些车辆的威力较小，但决定发送这些车辆开创了一个新的先例。The UK sought to break that mental barrier when it said it would send 14 Challenger tanks to Ukraine. The numbers are not militarily significant, but the decision set a precedent that Britain hoped would encourage other countries to do the same, soon.英国试图打破这种心理障碍，它说它将向乌克兰发送14辆挑战者坦克。这些数字在军事上并不重要，但这一决定开创了一个先例，英国希望籍此能鼓励其他国家尽快采取同样的行动。（英文摘自2023.2.1 Financial Times 网站）
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