紐時賞析／前方吃緊後方「緊吃」 烏克蘭忙掃貪

Graft Continues to Be a Fight, and a Headache, for Ukraine

前方吃緊後方緊吃 烏國忙掃貪

The removal of Ukraine’s minister of defense after a flurry of reports of graft and financial mismanagement in his department underscores a pivotal challenge for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wartime leadership: stamping out the corruption that had been widespread in Ukraine for years.

烏克蘭國防部接二連三傳出貪汙和財務管理不善後，部長遭到撤職，此事凸顯了總統澤倫斯基在戰時領導的一大關鍵挑戰：掃除烏克蘭多年來遍地橫行貪腐問題。

Official corruption was a topic that had been mostly taboo throughout the first year of the war, as Ukrainians rallied around their government in a fight for national survival. But Zelenskyy’s announcement that he was replacing the defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, elevated the issue to the highest level of Ukrainian politics.

在俄烏戰爭的第一年，烏克蘭人集結在政府旗下為國家存亡奮戰，官員貪汙通常是禁忌話題，但澤倫斯基宣布撤換國防部長列茲尼科夫，將該議題提升到了烏克蘭政治的最高層級。

It comes at a pivotal moment in the war, as Ukraine prosecutes a counteroffensive in the country’s south and east that relies heavily on Western allies for military assistance. These allies have, since the beginning of the war, pressured Zelenskyy’s government to ensure that Ukrainian officials were not siphoning off some of the billions of dollars in aid that was flowing into Kyiv.

此時正逢戰事關鍵時刻，烏克蘭在該國南部和東部發動反攻，這項行動極度仰賴西方盟國的軍事援助。這些盟國自從戰爭開始就已向澤倫斯基政府施壓，要求確保烏國官員不會非法挪用流入基輔的數十億美元援助。

Zelenskyy has responded to the pressure from allies and criticism at home with a flurry of anti-corruption initiatives, not all of them welcomed by experts on government transparency. The most controversial has been a proposal to use martial law powers to punish corruption as treason.

面對盟國壓力和國內批評，澤倫斯基已透過連串反貪措施回應，但非全都獲政府透明度專家肯定。最具爭議的是一項提案，利用戒嚴法權力，以叛國罪懲治貪汙。

Reznikov has not been personally implicated in the allegations of mismanaged military contracts. But the widening investigations at his ministry posed a first significant challenge for the government on anti-corruption measures since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

軍方合約管理不善的指控，列茲尼科夫本人並未受到牽連，但他的部會受到的調查持續擴大，成為俄國全面入侵以來，烏克蘭政府反貪措施的首項重大挑戰。

“The question here is, ‘Where is the money?’” said Daria Kaleniuk, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Ukraine, a group dedicated to rooting out public graft that is now focused on war profiteering.

「烏克蘭反貪腐行動中心」主任達利亞．克雷紐克表示：「此處的問題是：『錢在哪裡？』」該組織致力根除公共貪腐，如今聚焦關注戰爭牟利行為。

“Corruption can kill,” Kaleniuk said. “Depending on how effective we are in guarding the public funds, the soldier will either have a weapon or not have a weapon.”

「貪汙足以害命」，克雷紐克表示，「軍人能否握有武器，取決於我們捍衛公共資金的成效」。

That high-level cases of corruption are coming to light is positive, said Andrii Borovyk, director of Transparency International in Ukraine, rather than an indication of a nation bogged down by insider dealing. It shows that the country can fight the war and graft at the same time, he said.

國際透明組織烏克蘭分部主任玻洛維克表示，高層級貪汙案件曝光是正向發展，而非顯示國家深陷於內線交易。他說，這展現出國家可一邊打仗，同時打擊貪汙。

“Scandals are good,” he said. “The war,” Borovyk added, “cannot be an excuse to stop fighting corruption.”

「醜聞是好事」，玻洛維克補充說，「這場戰爭不能是停止對抗貪腐的藉口」。

文／Andrew E. Kramer　譯／高詣軒

說文解字看新聞

【高詣軒】

烏國總統澤倫斯基9月3日宣布將防長列茲尼科夫免職，被視為展示肅貪決心。Graft原指植物的嫁接或皮膚骨骼的移植，指「索賄」時為不可數名詞：another politician accused of graft.

Stamp當動詞有「跺腳、搗碎」之意，片語stamp out指阻止某件不好的事情繼續下去：We aim to stamp out poverty in our lifetimes.

Prosecute常指司法起訴，也指「持續進行」某項計畫好的團體活動，尤其是戰爭：He seemed convinced that the US would prosecute the war to its end.

Siphon是虹吸管，動詞意指用虹吸管吸取，本文片語siphon off指將特定用途款項挪作他用：He had been siphoning off money from the government for his own use.

Bog當動詞指陷入泥沼，片語bog down指沒有進度、動彈不得，常用被動語態。美國詩人佛洛斯特（Robert Frost）曾寫道："The important thing is not to get bogged down / In what he has to do to earn a living."