After Pledging Tanks for Ukraine, the West Considers Jets


当西方盟友承诺向乌克兰提供坦克、决定加码对抗俄罗斯时，也就意味着未来援助下一级别军备—喷气式战斗机的可能性有所增加。


乌克兰正在寻求包括F-16喷气式战斗机在内的更强大武器。

当西方盟友承诺向乌克兰提供坦克、决定加码对抗俄罗斯时，也就意味着未来援助下一级别军备—喷气式战斗机—的可能性有所增加。 6park.com
When Western allies decided to up the ante of confrontation with Russia by pledging tanks for Ukraine, it raised the prospect of the next possible level of armaments donations: jet fighters. 6park.com
   
几个月来乌克兰一直要求西方提供战机，本周更升级调门称需要美国的F-16战斗机、或是德国或瑞典的战机，来取代其苏联时代的军机并作为作战主力，只有这样才能将俄罗斯军队驱赶出境。 6park.com
Kyiv, which has been asking for jets for months, redoubled its calls this week, saying it needed U.S. F-16s or German or Swedish aircraft to replace its Soviet-era air force and dominate the skies over Ukraine so it can push Russian forces out of the country. 6park.com
  
与本月早些时候关于提供坦克的讨论一样，西方盟友对此举是否明智再次意见分歧。周一晚间被问及此事时，美国总统拜登(Joe Biden)对提供F-16战斗机的想法给出的答案是“不”。与美国一样，德国也表示反对，担心此举可能刺激俄罗斯将战火扩大到乌克兰以外地区。法国总统马克龙(Emmanuel Macron)称或许可以。其他一些盟友则表示赞成。 6park.com
Once again, as in the debate earlier this month over tanks, Western allies are split over the wisdom of the move. When asked about it Monday evening, President Biden gave a one-word answer—“no”—to the idea of providing F-16s. Germany, like the U.S., is opposed out of concern that it could push Russia to expand the war beyond Ukraine. In France, President Emmanuel Macron said maybe. Some other allies are in favor. 6park.com
   
这种分歧已经成为乌克兰要求提供先进武器时西方盟友的典型反应，常常等他们找到一种可行办法后这种分歧局面就会结束。关于坦克的讨论持续了数月时间，直到德国和美国表示同意。一些人认为关于战斗机的讨论也是类似的模式，一方面对俄乌战争可能升级的担忧加重，另一方面又希望给乌克兰提供重大支持来对抗预期中的俄罗斯攻势。 6park.com
Such divergence has typified the allies’ response on advanced weapons requests, often until they find a way to make it happen. The discussions over tanks lasted months before Germany and the U.S. agreed. Some see a similar pattern here, as concerns mount over escalation in the war and the desire to give Ukraine a big push to counter an anticipated Russian offensive. 6park.com
  
在巴黎与法国防长会晤后，乌克兰国防部长列兹尼科夫(Oleksii Reznikov)周二表示乌克兰需要飞机，并且认为乌克兰将拿到一些飞机，无论是F-16战机还是欧洲盟友提供的瑞典或法国战机。 6park.com
Speaking after a meeting with his French counterpart in Paris, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that Ukraine needs aircraft, and thinks that it will get some, whether F-16s or Swedish or French jets from European backers. 6park.com
  
列兹尼科夫说，他并没有因为拜登拒绝提供战机而感到气馁，因为美国以前也曾拒绝过。 6park.com
Mr. Reznikov said he wasn’t discouraged by Mr. Biden’s refusal for aircraft, because the U.S. has said no before. 6park.com
  
列兹尼科夫称：“我们的每一项请求最初都遭到了‘拒绝’。”他提到了德国最初曾如何拒绝提供豹式(Leopard)坦克。“现在我们有了坦克联盟。我有信心，将来会有一个飞机联盟。” 6park.com
“Each of our requests had to struggle against a ‘no’ at the beginning,” Mr. Reznikov said, noting how Germany had initially refused to provide tanks like the Leopard. “Now we have the tank coalition. I have confidence that in the future there will be a coalition of planes.” 6park.com
  
华盛顿的一些人认为，提供喷气式战斗机不太现实。战机可被用于深入打击俄罗斯领土或进入俄罗斯在2014年吞并的克里米亚半岛；向乌克兰提供这种武器可能会导致与俄罗斯的关系急剧升级。乌克兰飞行员将需要长达一年时间、成本高昂的培训。相比之下，坦克不能轻易深入俄罗斯领土。 6park.com
Jet fighters remain a step too far for some in Washington, risking a sharp escalation with Russia by handing a weapon to the Ukrainians that could be used to strike deep inside Russian territory, or into the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014. Ukrainian pilots would need expensive training that would take up to a year. Tanks, by comparison, cannot strike deep into Russian territory easily. 6park.com
  
与此同时，西方面临的压力越来越大，要在这场战争成为更艰难的消耗战之前改变乌克兰战场的局势。最近的行动表明，俄罗斯将坚守阵地，等待乌克兰人让步，等待西方对战争的支持减弱。 6park.com
At the same time, pressures are building in the West to reframe the dynamic on the ground in Ukraine before the war becomes even more of a slog of attrition. Recent moves suggest Moscow will dig in and wait for the Ukrainians to buckle and support for the war in the West to subside.


韩国一次军事演习中使用的称为ATACMS的陆军战术导弹系统。

尽管拜登对美国是否会提供F-16战机的问题作出了明确答复，但政府一般总是对议程上的任何武器提案持开放态度，基本上都会说这可能发生，但不是现在。美国国家安全委员会发言人柯比(John Kirby)本周在CNN上表示，政府正在考虑所有选项。 6park.com
Despite Mr. Biden’s definitive response to the question of whether the U.S. would provide F-16s, the administration has generally always left the door open to whatever weaponry proposal was on the table, essentially saying it could happen, but not right now. John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said on CNN this week the administration was considering all options. 6park.com
   
“我们一直在与乌克兰人讨论他们的需求，希望确保我们尽最大努力满足这些需求——如果我们做不到，我们的一些盟友和伙伴可以做到，”柯比称。 6park.com
“We are constantly talking to the Ukrainians about their needs, and want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to meet them—and if we can’t, that some of our allies and partners can,” Mr. Kirby said. 6park.com
   
与此同时，一些欧洲盟友也说可以提供帮助。虽然德国总理朔尔茨(Olaf Scholz)排除了输送喷气式战机的可能，但荷兰外长胡克斯特拉(Wopke Hoekstra)本月早些时候说，如果乌克兰提出要求，他的内阁将考虑提供F-16战斗机。 6park.com
Meanwhile, some European allies are offering to step up. While German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ruled out deliveries of jets, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said earlier this month that his cabinet would consider supplying F-16s if Ukraine requests them. 6park.com
   
立陶宛总统瑙塞达(Gitanas Naus da)敦促其他欧洲国家无视俄罗斯对于西方干预乌克兰冲突所发出的警告，继续推进向乌克兰交付飞机和导弹。 6park.com
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda urged other European countries to ignore warnings Russia has made about Western interference in the conflict in Ukraine, and follow through with the delivery of aircraft and missiles. 6park.com
   
瑙塞达周二表示：“因为战斗机和远程导弹属于至关重要的军事援助，俄乌战争正处于一个关键阶段，转折即将发生，我们必须毫不拖延地采取行动。”他还说，曾经被认为是禁止提供的其他武器装备，比如西方的坦克，已经获准交付给乌克兰。 6park.com
“Because fighter jets and long-range missiles are essential military aid, and at this crucial stage in the war, where the turning point is about to happen, it is vital that we act without delay,” Mr. Nausėda said Tuesday, adding that the delivery of other weaponry once considered taboo, such as Western tanks, has gained acceptance. 6park.com
   
瑙塞达称：“卢比孔河已经被跨过了，所以我确实希望这条红线——如果它真的存在的话，而且我认为它只存在于我们的头脑中——也将被越过。” 6park.com
“This Rubicon has been crossed, so I do hope that this red line—if it really exists, and I think it exists only in our heads—will also be crossed,” he said. 6park.com
   
虽然F-16战斗机的构造比美国本月早些时候提供给乌克兰的艾布拉姆斯(Abrams)主战坦克要复杂得多，但有些人认为维护F-16可能更容易。艾布拉姆斯坦克由耗油的涡轮发动机提供动力，进行维修和保养必须在乌克兰境内，往往要靠近战场，因为坦克随时可能发生故障。 6park.com
While F-16s are far more complicated than the Abrams tanks the U.S. provided Ukraine earlier this month, some say maintaining them could be easier. Abrams tanks, powered by a gas-guzzling turbine engine, must be repaired and maintained inside Ukraine, often close to the battlefield as they can break down at any time. 6park.com
   
但退役军官表示，F-16战斗机不一样，通常事先有信号提示它们需要维护，它们就可以飞到国外进行维修和保养。 6park.com
F-16s, however, usually have signals showing they need maintenance beforehand and can be flown outside the country for repair and upkeep, retired military officers said. 6park.com
  
F-16是全球战斗机编列中配置最普遍的机型之一，自1979年首次交付以来，已经为25个国家总计生产提供了4,500多架。F-16有单座和双座两种型号，可以携带精确制导武器，比如联合空对地远攻导弹、智能炸弹和空对空导弹。 6park.com
It is one of the most ubiquitous of the global jet-fighter fleet, with more than 4,500 produced for 25 countries since first delivery in 1979. It comes in one- and two-seat versions and can carry precision weapons including the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile as well as smart bombs and air-to-air missiles. 6park.com
   
这种飞机是与一些欧洲伙伴一起开发的，荷兰、比利时、希腊和波兰的空军仍在使用这种飞机。罗马尼亚去年同意从挪威购买二手F-16战斗机。 6park.com
Developed with a number of European partners, the air forces of the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Poland continue to fly the jet. Romania last year agreed to buy secondhand F-16s from Norway. 6park.com
   
乌克兰开始寻求用现代飞机来取代苏联时期老龄机队不到一周前，该国获得了北大西洋公约组织(North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 简称﹕北约)国家提供逾300辆美国和德国重型坦克的承诺。除了空中力量，基辅还在寻求更多的远程导弹，如陆军战术导弹系统，即ATACMS，这种导弹可以更深入地打击被占领土，甚至打击俄罗斯境内的目标。 6park.com
Ukraine’s quest for modern aircraft to replace its aging Soviet-vintage fleet comes less than a week after securing pledges from North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries for more than 300 U.S. and German heavy tanks. Besides air power, Kyiv is seeking more longer-range missiles like Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, that can strike deeper into occupied territory and even hit targets inside Russia. 6park.com
   
乌克兰多年前曾希望逐步引进新的西方喷气式战斗机，以取代其陈旧且已不敷使用的机队，但战争加速了对更新技术的需求，有了这样的技术基辅才能在与俄罗斯空军的竞争中占据优势。 6park.com
Ukraine had hoped years ago to phase in new Western jet fighters to replace its old and now exhausted fleet, but the war has accelerated demands for fresher technology to give Kyiv an edge over Russia’s air force. 6park.com
  
乌克兰空军发言人Yuriy Ihnat说，俄罗斯在乌克兰周围的40个空军基地拥有约400架战机和300架直升机。虽然战争在很大程度上是在地面上进行的（主要原因是乌克兰的防空部队击落了数百架俄罗斯飞机和直升机），但乌克兰表示，像F-16这样的飞机将最终使基辅在空中占据优势。 6park.com
Ukrainian air-force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said Russia has around 400 warplanes and 300 helicopters at 40 air bases around Ukraine. While the war has largely been fought on the ground, mostly due to Ukrainian air defenses that have shot down hundreds of Russian planes and helicopters, Ukraine says planes like F-16s would finally give Kyiv the upper hand in the air. 6park.com
   
他说：“这是我们获得空中优势所需要的技术。” 6park.com
“This is the technology we need to gain air superiority,” he said. 6park.com
  
波兰总理莫拉维茨基(Mateusz Morawiecki)也表示，可以在与其他北约国家达成协议和协调一致的情况下转交战机。 6park.com
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also said warplanes could be transferred in agreement and coordination with other NATO countries. 6park.com
   
俄罗斯尚未针对西方承诺向乌克兰提供坦克实施任何实质性报复，但俄罗斯中将Yevgeny Buzhinsky周二告诉俄罗斯新闻社(RIA Novosti)称，如果乌克兰利用欧洲的机场对俄罗斯军队发动袭击，那么这些机场可能会成为 “合理目标”。 6park.com
Russia hasn’t made any substantive retaliation against the West’s promise to deliver its tanks to Ukraine, but Russian Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Buzhinsky told state news agency RIA on Tuesday that airfields in Europe could become “legitimate targets” if Ukraine uses them to launch sorties against Russian forces. 6park.com
  
随着俄罗斯加强对乌克兰东部顿巴斯地区的攻击，基辅方面已呼吁加快武器转交，几个月来俄罗斯一直专注于在前线城市巴赫穆特及其周边地区取得突破。 6park.com
Kyiv has called for weapons transfers to be accelerated as Russia has increased its attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas area, where it has focused for months on making a breakthrough in and around the front-line city of Bakhmut. 6park.com
  
“供应速度一直是、也将继续成为这场战争的关键因素之一”，乌克兰总统泽连斯基(Volodymyr Zelensky)本周早些时候表示。“俄罗斯想用拖延战术来耗尽我们的兵力。” 6park.com
“The speed of supply has been and will be one of the key factors in this war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week. “Russia hopes to drag out the war, to exhaust our forces.” 6park.com