In December, Biden met virtually with Putin in what the White House described as a "moment of crisis." European leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron, also met with Putin in an effort to defuse tensions.
去年12月，拜登与普京进行了线上会晤，白宫将当时的俄乌局势称之为“危机时刻”。包括法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在内的欧洲领导人也会见了普京，以缓解紧张局势。
Earlier this month, President Biden spoke directly with Putin again in an-hour-long call, during which the U.S. leader warned of a decisive response to an invasion that nonetheless resulted in no "fundamental change," according to a senior administration official.
本月早些时候，拜登总统在长达一小时的电话会议中再次直接与普京会谈。据一名高级政府官员称，拜登在通话中警告称，美国将对入侵做出果断反应，但这并未产生“根本性改变”。
Days later, the Kremlin claimed to be pulling troops back from the border regions in eastern Ukraine, even as the U.S. insisted that Russian troop strength in those areas was actually building significantly and that an invasion was imminent.
几天后，克里姆林宫声称将从乌克兰东部边境地区撤军，尽管美国坚称俄罗斯在这些地区的兵力实际上正在显著增加，入侵迫在眉睫。
Along with the president, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly warned that invasion could come "at any time." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov scoffed at that possibility in January, labeling it as "hysteria."
除了总统，美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯反复警告说，入侵可能随时发生。今年1月，俄罗斯外长谢尔盖·拉夫罗夫对这种可能性嗤之以鼻，称其为“歇斯底里”。
Speaking at the White House last Friday, Biden said that he was convinced that Putin had made a decision to invade. He said the White House had "reason to believe" an attack was coming within days and that it could include a move on Kyiv.
拜登上周五在白宫发表讲话时表示，他确信普京已经做出了入侵的决定。他说，白宫有理由相信袭击将在几天内发生，其中可能包括对基辅的举动。
However, early on in the diplomatic effort, Biden staked the U.S. position that Washington would not go to war directly with Russia in Ukraine and instead would "rally the world and oppose its aggression."
然而，在外交努力的早期，拜登就押注了美国的立场，即华盛顿不会在乌克兰直接与俄罗斯开战，而是"召集世界各国，反对其侵略"。
"The United States and our allies and partners around the world are ready to impose powerful sanctions and export controls," he said earlier this month.
他本月早些时候表示："美国和我们在世界各地的盟友和伙伴准备实施强有力的制裁和出口管制，"
The president also warned Americans to leave Ukraine, saying he wouldn't be sending troops to rescue them in Ukraine.
总统还警告美国人离开乌克兰，称他不会派遣军队到乌克兰营救他们。
While the "steep consequences" that the White House promised failed to deter Putin from the invasion, the Biden administration hopes they will succeed at punishing him for his actions. Meanwhile, the European Union blacklisted Russian lawmakers and officials, banned EU investors from trading in Russian state bonds and moved to economically isolate Donbas separatist entities.
虽然白宫承诺的“严重后果”未能阻止普京入侵，但拜登政府希望能成功惩治其行为。与此同时，欧盟将俄罗斯议员和官员列入黑名单，禁止欧盟投资者买卖俄罗斯国债，并在经济上孤立顿巴斯分离主义实体。
Complicating diplomatic efforts is that a third of Europe's natural gas supply comes from Russia, a fact that threatened to blunt a unified response. EU member Germany nonetheless agreed to shut down the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with Russia, a huge potential revenue source for the Kremlin.
使外交努力复杂化的是，欧洲三分之一的天然气供应来自俄罗斯，这一事实可能会削弱各国的一致发声。尽管如此，欧盟成员国德国还是同意关闭与俄罗斯的北溪2天然气管道项目，这是克里姆林宫的一个巨大潜在收入来源。
以上文章来自WX公注号“英语跃进”
重点词汇
defuse /diːˈfjuːz/ vt. 平息；去掉……的雷管
invasion /ɪnˈveɪʒn/ n. 侵略，入侵
scoff /skɒf/ v. 嘲笑，嘲弄
blacklist /ˈblæklɪst/ n. 黑名单 vt. 将……列入黑名单
blunt /blʌnt/ adj. 钝的，不锋利的；直言不讳的 v. 减弱；使不锋利