Social Science 2022 Ep.

12

Why has Russia Attacked Ukraine?

The biggest European war since 1945 is happening in Ukraine right now,
and the whole world is watching. Russia has executed a full-scale invasion of 檔案下載
their neighbor, and thousands of people are dying. Why has Russia invaded
Ukraine?

Russia and Ukraine have a long and complicated history. They used to be
part of the same socialist state, the Soviet Union, but have been separate
countries since 1991. Because of this, Russia and Ukraine share much of their
culture, language and history.

The two countries have actually been fighting for many years already,
including about who should control an area called Crimea. Russia took control
of Crimea in 2014. In late February 2022, Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin
announced that the Russian army would conduct a ‘special military operation’
in Ukraine. This really means war. Putin told the people of Russia that the
Ukrainian government was dangerous and that he wanted to save Ukraine. Most
people think this is a lie, and believe that Putin actually wants to expand his
empire.

Russia’s army has been attacking many cities in Ukraine using soldiers,
tanks and bombs. Though being much smaller than Russia’s, Ukraine’s army is
defending the country well. Putin seems to be getting frustrated, and is sending
more troops to Ukraine.

Most countries in the world support Ukraine and are helping by sending
supplies. Many countries are worried, however, that if they help too much, Putin
will get very angry and start a world war. The situation is changing every day,
and no-one knows when this war will end.

 Ukraine 烏克蘭 Russia 俄羅斯 Soviet Union 蘇聯 Crimea 克里米亞

Vocabulary
execute 執行 full-scale invasion 全面入侵 complicated 複雜的
socialist 社會主義的 separate 不同的；各自的 conduct 實施
expand 擴張 empire 帝國 defend 防衛
frustrated 沮喪 troop 軍隊
Time to Think

1. ( ) According to the article, what do most people think Putin’s motive is for invading
Ukraine?  motive 動機
(A) He wants to make Ukraine a part of Russia.
(B) He wants to use the land in Ukraine to build factories.
(C) He wants to save Ukraine from their terrible government.
(D) He wants to get revenge on Ukraine for attacking Crimea.
2. ( ) According to the article, what is surprising about Ukraine’s military?
(A) The Ukrainian army is being defeated faster than expected.  defeat 打敗
(B) The Ukrainian army is much bigger than anybody expected.
(C) The Ukrainian army has better tanks and weapons than Russia.
(D) The Ukrainian is putting up a good fight, even though they have fewer soldiers.
3. ( ) Based on the article, why do you think other countries are reluctant to send troops to help
Ukraine fight Russia?  reluctant 不情願的
(A) They don’t support the government in Ukraine.
(B) They need their troops to defend their own countries.
(C) They don’t think they should get involved in wars in other countries.
(D) They are worried that Putin will attack more countries than just Ukraine.

俄羅斯為何襲擊烏克蘭？
自 1945 年以來最大的歐洲戰爭現在正在烏克蘭發生，全世界都在關注。俄羅斯對其鄰國
進行了全面入侵，成千上萬的人正在死亡。俄羅斯為什麼要入侵烏克蘭？

俄羅斯和烏克蘭有著悠久而復雜的歷史。他們曾經是同一個社會主義國家-蘇聯的一部
分，但自 1991 年以來一直是不同的國家。因此，俄羅斯和烏克蘭在文化、語言和歷史上都有
很多共同點。

這兩個國家實際上已經戰鬥了很多年，包括誰應該控制一個叫做克里米亞的地區。俄羅
斯於 2014 年控制了克里米亞。2022 年 2 月下旬，俄羅斯領導人普丁宣布俄羅斯軍隊將在烏克
蘭進行「特殊軍事行動」。這確實意味著戰爭。普丁告訴俄羅斯人民，烏克蘭政府很危險，他
想拯救烏克蘭。大多數人認為這是一個謊言，並認為普丁實際上是想擴大他的帝國。

俄羅斯軍隊一直在用士兵、坦克和炸彈來襲擊烏克蘭的許多城市。儘管比俄羅斯的軍隊
小得多，但烏克蘭軍隊把國家保衛得很好。普丁似乎很沮喪，並正在向烏克蘭派遣更多軍隊。

世界上大多數國家都支持烏克蘭，並透過運送物資提供協助。然而，許多國家擔心，如
果他們提供太多幫助，普丁會非常生氣並發動世界大戰。局勢每天都在變化，沒有人知道這場
戰爭何時會結束。

Ans: 1. A 2. D 3. D