俄羅斯增兵俄烏邊境 氣氛緊張逼人

Russia has sharply increased the number of troops and vehicles positioned on the eastern border of Ukraine in the past few days, raising fears of an invasion to stop the Ukrainian army’s recent advances against pro-Russian separatists.

過去幾天俄羅斯大幅增加了在烏克蘭東部邊境的駐軍及各種軍用車輛的數量，這引發了人們對俄羅斯爲壓制烏克蘭軍隊近期對親俄分裂分子的進軍勢頭而入侵烏克蘭的擔憂。

Moscow has around 20,000 troops deployed in battle-ready formations on the border, according to senior Nato military officers – significantly more than the 15,000 US officials said were deployed there last week.

根據北約(Nato)高級軍事官員的說法，俄羅斯政府在俄烏邊境部署了2萬處於戰備狀態的駐軍，大大高於上週部署的逾1.5萬人——這一數字是美國官員透露的。

While the number is still well below the 40,000 Russian troops deployed near Ukraine in April, the sharp rise in just a few days has been a cause for significant concern among Western military powers.

儘管這一數字仍大大低於今年4月在烏克蘭附近部署的4萬俄軍，但駐軍人數在短短几天內劇增還是在西方軍事強國中引發了極大擔憂。

According to US officials, the Russian troop deployments are also now much closer to the Ukrainian border – all within 50km – than in previous instances.

根據美國官員的說法，這些俄羅斯軍隊目前全部在距烏克蘭邊境50公里以內，比此前距邊境的距離大大縮近。

The battalions that have been deployed are predominantly those which have been at the forefront of a sweeping modernisation programme undertaken by Russia’s military in recent years and are among the best equipped and trained in the Russian army.

這些駐軍中的大多率先通過了俄羅斯軍方最近幾年實施的全面現代化計劃，屬於俄羅斯軍隊中裝備最精良，訓練最好的部隊。

Those present include elite spetsnaz forces, armoured brigades and artillery and anti-aircraft units.

這些部隊中包括精銳的“阿爾法小組”(spetsnaz)特種部隊、裝甲旅、以及炮兵和防空部隊。

The troops are spread along the length of the border with Ukraine. As with previous Russian deployments along the border, the Kremlin has been careful to ensure that no single out-of-base concentration exceeds a limit of 9,000 stipulated under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 and the Nato-Russia founding act on mutual relations of 1997.

這些部隊沿着漫長的俄烏邊境排開。和此前俄羅斯沿俄烏邊境的駐軍一樣，俄羅斯政府對兵力做了十分小心的部署，確保沒有一個基地外的集結點人數會超過9000人。這一人數限制來自1994年簽署的《布達佩斯安全保障備忘錄》(Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances)，以及1997年俄羅斯與北約就雙方關係簽署的《北約-俄羅斯基本文件》(NATO-Russia Founding Act)。

Ukraine on Tuesday called upon Russia to halt its build-up of forces along its border as fears mounted that Moscow could invade to prevent the advancing army of its southern neighbour from finishing off pro-Russian separatists increasingly encircled and bunkered down in eastern Ukraine’s largest cities ahead of a final showdown.

週二，在對俄羅斯入侵的擔憂日益增強之際，烏克蘭呼籲俄羅斯停止在邊境增兵的行爲。目前，親俄分裂分子日益陷入重圍，困在烏克蘭東部幾個最大城市，等待着最後攤牌。烏克蘭方面擔心，爲阻止烏克蘭軍隊進軍掃清親俄分裂分子，俄羅斯可能會入侵烏克蘭。

“Ukraine considers the conducting of such unprecedented military exercises on the border with Ukraine as a provocation,” said Col. Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian army spokesperson.

烏克蘭軍方發言人安德里•李森科上校(Col. Andriy Lysenko)表示：“烏克蘭把在烏克蘭邊境這類史無前例的軍事演習視爲一種挑釁。”

Russian officials have for weeks hinted at the need for peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine to halt bloodshed among the civilian population but which Kiev regards as a pretext for direct Russian intervention in the conflict.

幾周來，俄羅斯官方一直在暗示有必要向烏克蘭東部派遣維和部隊，以阻止平民間的殺戮。不過，烏克蘭政府將這一提議視爲俄羅斯直接干預烏克蘭衝突的藉口。

Accused by Kiev and the West of funnelling rebels and heavy arms to the separatist militants, Russia has explained the border military build-up as training exercises.

對於在俄烏邊境的增兵行爲，俄羅斯辯稱這只是出於演練。目前，烏克蘭政府和西方還曾指責俄羅斯向分裂分子的武裝力量輸送反叛人員和重型武器。

Kiev claims there are some 15,000 separatist militants in the east of Ukraine which it says are being supplied with heavy arms by Moscow, including the Buk surface-to-air missile the US and EU allege was used to shoot down a Malaysia passenger airliner last month, killing all 298 on board.

聯合國(UN)難民署週二表示，烏克蘭境內有11.7萬人流離失所。

Kiev has also repeatedly accused Moscow’s forces stationed at the border of firing artillery and surface-to-surface missiles at local troops from Russian territory to bolster the separatists’ hand in battles that have been raging since April.

就在週二，俄羅斯也曾呼籲聯合國安理會(UN Security Council)就烏克蘭的人道主義局面召開緊急會議。

Such attacks and fears that Russia could entertain a full-blown military incursion have increased in past weeks as Ukraine’s military has made gains in its military campaign against the rebels.

在烏克蘭東部城市，數百名平民在炮火中喪生。對此，烏克蘭政府和分裂分子武裝都指責對方發動了炮火襲擊。