华盛顿 — 乌克兰即将举行全国大选的前一个星期，乌克兰东部地区的动荡以及分离主义情绪仍然非常强烈。尽管乌克兰全体公民是否将会参与投票还是个问号，但是奥巴马政府强调，5月25号的选举至关重要。
Explosions signaled the latest clashes between Ukrainian security forces and pro-Russian militants near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, where self-appointed mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov rejected Kyiv’s authority.
乌克兰安全部队和亲俄武装人员在东部城市斯拉维扬斯克附近发生了又一轮冲突。自行任命为市长的波诺马尤夫拒绝接受基辅的领导。
“They (Ukrainian authorities) have always been occupiers, and remain so. Everything we are doing we do not for ourselves but for the people. Let them determine their destiny,” said Ponomaryov.
他说：“乌克兰当局过去一直是外来侵略者，现在还是。我们做的所有事情，不是为自己而是为了人民。让人民决定自己的命运。”
Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, signs abound of a deepening conflict. United Nations human rights monitor Ivan Simonovic says numerous violations have been reported.
在乌克兰东部各地，很多迹象显示冲突在日益加剧。联合国人权观察员西蒙诺维奇(Ivan Simonovic)说，媒体报道了数不清的侵害。
“The human rights monitoring mission has received information that 250 people have been killed, including local residents, national security forces, and armed groups. Any further arming of protesters and their transformation into paramilitary groups must immediately stop. Armed groups should be urgently disarmed,” said Simonovic.
他说：“我们收到的信息是，已经有250人在冲突中丧生，其中包括当地居民，以及国家安全部队和武装团体。应当立即停止任何将抗议人士武装起来、发展成民兵组织的行动；武装团体应当尽快解除武装。”
In Washington, the White House Spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. continues to look ahead to next Sunday’s presidential election as a critical step to bringing the crisis in Ukraine under control.
白宫发言人卡尼在华盛顿表示，美国仍将下星期天的乌克兰大选看作是将危机控制住的一个关键步骤。
“Our focus and the focus of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and the Ukrainian government and all of our partners in this effort is on ensuring that those elections are able to go forward. And the OSCE has reported that the preparations, the technical preparations for the elections are proceeding well,” said Carney.
卡尼说：“我们的重点、欧洲安全与合作组织、乌克兰政府以及所有合作伙伴的重点都是要保证选举按计划进行。欧洲安全与合作组织表示，这次大选的筹备，包括技术上的筹备都进行得不错。”
The situation in Ukraine is one of several crises that have emboldened domestic critics of the Obama administration’s handling of foreign policy. Former Vice President Dick Cheney told Fox News Sunday the president has repeatedly shown he can be “pushed around” by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
乌克兰局势是美国国内一些批评人士指责奥巴马政府在外交事务上处理不当的例子之一。前副总统切尼星期天在接受福克斯电视台采访的时候说，奥巴马在和俄罗斯总统普京打交道过程中，一直处于被动状态。(未经51VOA.COM授权请勿转载！)