紐時賞析／歐盟巨額貸款反映俄烏戰事短期難解

通往烏克蘭南部赫鬆的道路上方，部署反無人機攻擊的防護網。（紐約時報）

E.U. Loan To Kyiv Provides Lifeline For War Effort

歐盟鉅額貸款反映俄烏戰事短期難解

For weeks, Ukraine had been caught in a bind. A path to ending the war seemed increasingly illusory, as peace talks with Russia went from yielding no results to being put on hold. That meant Ukraine needed to prepare to fight indefinitely, even as vital financial support from the European Union remained frozen.

數週以來，烏克蘭一直陷入進退兩難的困境。隨着與俄羅斯的和平談判從毫無進展到被迫暫停，結束戰爭的可能性愈發顯得遙不可及。這意味着烏克蘭必須爲長期作戰做準備，縱然來自歐盟的關鍵財政支援仍遭凍結。

On Thursday, a breakthrough finally arrived.

星期四，局勢終於出現突破。

After Hungary dropped its opposition to a $106 billion EU loan to Ukraine the day before, European leaders unblocked the funds.

匈牙利在前一天撤回對1060億美元歐盟貸款的反對後，歐洲領袖隨即解凍這筆資金。

The money, which had been held up since December, will cover a large share of Ukraine’s financial needs over the next two years. Once those funds are exhausted, an additional $117 billion from the bloc’s long-term budget is expected to be allocated to Ukraine.

自去年12月以來遭擱置的這筆資金，將支應烏克蘭未來兩年財政的大部分需求。待該資金用盡後，歐盟長期預算中可望將再撥款1170億美元支援烏克蘭。

In addition to the loan, the EU adopted its 20th package of economic sanctions against Russia on Thursday.

貸款之外，歐盟週四也祭出對俄羅斯的第20輪經濟制裁。

“Deadlock over,” Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, wrote on social media. “Russia’s war economy is under growing strain, while Ukraine is getting a major boost.”

歐盟外交政策負責人卡拉斯在社羣媒體上表示：「僵局已經結束。」她指出：「戰爭帶給俄羅斯的經濟壓力持續升高，烏克蘭則獲得重大支援。」

The EU’s extended commitment to Ukraine has largely filled a void left by the Trump administration. Last year, European countries provided nearly all of Ukraine’s military, financial and humanitarian support, while U.S. aid fell 99%, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research center.

歐盟持續對烏克蘭的承諾，差不多填補了川普政府留下的支援空缺。德國基爾世界經濟研究所指出，去年歐洲國家提供烏克蘭幾乎所有的軍事、財政與人道援助，美國援助大幅下降99%。

Unlike previous EU assistance packages, the latest one is heavily weighted toward defense spending. Some $70 billion of the loan will go to the military, giving Ukraine a substantial pool of money to buy costly air defense systems and expand production of drones, its most effective tools for blunting Russian ground assaults.

與以往歐盟援助方案不同，這次資金偏重國防支出。其中約700億美元將用於軍事用途，提供烏克蘭龐大資金採購昂貴的防空系統，並擴大無人機生產——這是抵禦俄軍地面攻勢最有效的工具。

The loan will allow Ukraine to better plan its military operations over the long term. It has seldom been able to do that, as previous assistance often arrived in dribs and drabs, consisting largely of equipment donations rather than funding that could be directed toward buying or producing the weapons Ukraine needs most.

這筆貸款將使烏克蘭能更完善規畫長期軍事行動。烏克蘭以往很難做到這點，因爲援助多半零星到位，且多爲裝備捐贈，而非可用於採購或生產關鍵武器的資金。

The emphasis on military financing reflects what many European and Ukrainian officials have expressed privately for months: that Ukraine must prepare for a prolonged war by strengthening its defenses.

強化軍事資金的安排，反映歐洲與烏克蘭官員數月來私下一致的看法：烏克蘭必須提升防禦能力，爲長期戰爭做好準備。

文／Constant Méheut，譯／國際中心

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