Ukraine Claws Back Land in the Donbas, Thwarting a Russian Push
烏克蘭在頓巴斯收復失土 挫俄攻勢
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the fall of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is inevitable and will happen faster than Ukraine thinks.
俄羅斯總統普亭一再宣稱，烏克蘭東部頓巴斯地區的淪陷勢不可免，而且會比烏克蘭想像的更快發生。
Recent trends on the battlefield paint a different picture.
但戰場近期的發展，呈現出另一種景象。
A monthslong Ukrainian counteroffensive in the northern part of the Donbas has thwarted Russian efforts to encircle the remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the region. Russia, Western analysts say, has lost dozens of square miles of territory during the Ukrainian campaign, which Ukraine is calling Operation Vivaldi.
烏克蘭在頓巴斯北部發動長達數月的反攻，已挫敗俄羅斯包圍當地剩餘烏控城市的企圖。西方分析家指出，俄羅斯在烏克蘭這場代號「韋瓦第行動」的攻勢中，已失去數十平方英里的土地。
In the southern Donbas, Russia continues to mount furious assaults to break through Ukrainian lines. But Ukraine has reorganized its defense there and has so far kept the Russian military from pressing farther in its efforts to surround the major Donbas cities.
在頓巴斯南部，俄羅斯仍持續發動猛烈攻擊，企圖突破烏軍防線。但烏克蘭已在當地重整防務，目前為止，俄軍仍無法推進得更遠，以包圍頓巴斯主要城市。
More broadly, Russian gains across Ukraine have slowed markedly in 2026 from their already glacial pace of last year. September was the worst month in net territorial gains for Russia inside Ukraine since June 2023, according to Finland-based research firm Black Bird Group.
更廣泛地說，俄羅斯在烏克蘭全境的推進速度，已從去年原本就極為緩慢的步調，在2026年明顯放得更慢。芬蘭研究機構「黑鳥集團」統計，9月是俄軍自2023年6月以來，在烏克蘭境內淨增領土最少的一個月。
While Western researchers who track the battlefield report varying numbers, they generally agree that Russia has gained only slightly more land than it has lost this year.
追蹤戰場的西方研究人員提出的數字雖有差異，但大致同意俄羅斯今年奪得的土地，僅比失去的土地略多。
That contrasts sharply with the narrative put forward by the Russian Ministry of Defense, which said Sept. 19 that Russia had captured more than 2,000 square miles. Even ultranationalist Russian military bloggers have pushed back, voicing concern that Russia’s push to envelop the so-called fortress cities of the Donbas is failing.
這與俄國防部說法形成強烈對比；該部9月19日宣稱俄軍已奪取逾2000平方英里土地。連俄羅斯極端民族主義軍事部落客都不買帳，擔心俄羅斯包圍頓巴斯所謂「堡壘城市」行動正在失敗。
The Ukrainian gains have come as both sides have tried to find a way to restore movement on a battlefield that had become largely deadlocked because of ubiquitous drones.
烏克蘭能有所斬獲，是因為無人機無所不在、而大致陷入僵局的戰場上，雙方都試圖重新找回推進的可能。
Putin has said full Russian control of the Donbas, gained either through force or through Ukrainian concessions, is a nonnegotiable condition for ending the war. Ukraine has rejected Trump administration proposals that it hand over land that Russia has failed to seize on the battlefield.
普亭曾說，無論是透過武力或烏克蘭讓步，俄羅斯完全控制頓巴斯，都是結束戰爭沒得談的條件。烏克蘭已拒絕川普政府的方案，也就是要求烏克蘭交出俄羅斯未能在戰場上奪取的土地。
With its goals still unmet in the Donbas, Moscow has escalated its air war against Ukrainian cities, using its advantage in missiles and drones to bombard Kyiv, the capital. Strikes in several cities overnight Wednesday left at least 20 people dead, Ukrainian officials said.
由於在頓巴斯的目標仍未達成，莫斯科升高對烏克蘭城市的空襲，利用飛彈與無人機優勢轟炸首都基輔。烏克蘭官員表示，周三夜間多座城市遭空襲，至少20人死亡。
文／Marc Santora and Josh Holder，譯／國際中心
說文解字看新聞
【張佑生】
標題claw (something) back or claw back (something)意指費力尋回失物，在財經語境可指政府或企業收回已付款項；在股市則指股價下跌後回升：With budget cuts looming, the government is trying to claw back some of the money it promised to state agencies.在預算削減迫近之際，聯邦政府試圖收回部分原本承諾撥給各州政府的款項。
Thwart常以被動語態出現，有遇挫受阻的意思：thwarted ambition/hopes.小說《咆哮山莊》裡面，希斯克里夫在哈里頓離開後喃喃自語，沒發現洛克伍德在他身後：‘It will be odd if I thwart myself,’ he muttered, unconscious that I was behind him.這裡用「壞了自己的事」比「阻撓自己」更自然。
近義字還不少，包括hinder,obstruct. thwart,frustrate, baffle，其中的細微差異，讀者可參閱Collins英語辭典，查thwart即可。
全球暖化造成冰川溶解，glacial在本文的意思是極慢：For years, reform to the system has been discussed, but progress is glacial.用來形容人，通常是女性：Her glacial beauty is magnetic.對應中文「冰山美人」。
教育新血流失：是什麼逼走年輕教師？