Ukraine said its army advanced into the eastern city of Lugansk yesterday, marking a breakthrough in a four-month campaign against Russia-backed separatists.
乌克兰表示，该国军队昨日攻入东部的卢甘斯克市，这标志着乌克兰在这场持续已四个月的打击俄罗斯支持的分裂分子的战役中取得了突破。Diplomatic efforts to prevent a further escalation of the conflict – and direct confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian forces – gathered pace, with the countries’ foreign ministers meeting in Berlin with French and German counterparts.
另一方面，为阻止冲突进一步升级——以及乌克兰和俄罗斯部队的直接对抗，各方仍在加紧外交努力。乌克兰和俄罗斯外交部长正在柏林与法德两国的外长一起开会。But intense fighting continued to rage across parts of Ukraine’s breakaway eastern regions and Kiev and Moscow were still locked in a dispute over a humanitarian aid convoy destined for Lugansk that remained stuck at the Russian border.
不过，在乌克兰东部部分地区，激烈的战斗仍在继续。与此同时，乌克兰政府与俄罗斯政府仍在为被困在俄罗斯边境、欲抵达卢甘斯克的人道主义救援车队陷入争论。
A Ukrainian army spokesperson said government forces defeated pro-Russian rebels in Lugansk’s Zhovtnevy neighbourhood, taking the local police station. “They raised the state flag over it,” he added.
一名乌克兰军方发言人表示，政府军击败了卢甘斯克Zhovtnevy区的亲俄叛军，占领了当地警察局。他补充说：“他们在警察局升起了国旗。”Lugansk is one of few remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Ukraine and has been encircled by Ukrainian forces for several weeks, leaving its remaining residents without power and running water. Some areas have been heavily shelled.
卢甘斯克是叛军在乌克兰东部的剩余据点之一，几周以来该市一直被乌克兰政府军包围，市内剩余居民处于断电断水状态。该市部分地区受到猛烈炮击。Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, said government forces had also closed in on rebels in their main stronghold of Donetsk, taking the strategically important town of Yasynuvata, a suburb on the northeastern outskirts of the city, where plumes of smoke could be seen hanging overhead.
乌克兰总统彼得罗•波罗申科(Petro Poroshenko)表示，政府军也在逼近顿涅茨克这个叛军主要据点，占领了战略要地、顿涅茨克东北郊的Yasynuvata镇。那里可以看到空中飘着大量浓烟。Rebels in Donetsk posted a message on their website urging residents to report by telephone the presence of any Ukrainian troops. The separatists also demonstrated their own firepower by downing a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over the Lugansk region.
顿涅茨克叛军在其网站发布信息，敦促居民们用电话报告乌克兰军队的踪迹。此外，分裂分子还在卢甘斯克地区击落了一家乌克兰的米格-29战斗机，展示了他们拥有的火力。Kiev said on Friday it had attacked and destroyed part of a military column that had crossed the border, raising fears of direct conflict between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
上周五，乌克兰政府表示曾向越过俄乌边境的一个军车车队发起攻击，击溃了车队的一部分，这引发了乌克兰和俄罗斯部队可能会直接冲突的担忧。Speaking as he prepared to host the new round of peace talks, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, said: “We urgently need new political impetus – otherwise we run the danger . . . of re-entering an intensified escalation spiral.
在准备主持新一轮和平谈判之际，德国外长弗兰克-瓦尔特•施泰因迈尔(Frank-Walter Steinmeier)表示：“我们迫切需要新的政治推动力，否则我们可能会……再次面临局势进一步恶化的螺旋式局面。“It is all about a road map to a sustainable ceasefire and a framework for effective border controls.
“这一切的关键在于达成一份路线图，以实现可持续停火，并商定有效边境控制的框架。“Only in this way can eastern Ukraine achieve peace.”
“只有这样乌克兰东部才能实现和平。”