乌克兰暴力冲突造成至少九人丧生

Weeks of stalemate between the government and Western-leaning protesters in Ukraine were shattered Tuesday by an outburst of violence that killed at least nine people. Authorities responded by storming encampments held by activists in the center of the capital for the past two months.

乌克兰政府与抗议者之间持续了数周的僵持于周二打破，一场暴力冲突造成至少九人死亡。在过去两个月被抗议者占领的市中心地带，双方发生了激烈对抗。

The number of dead and wounded--the worst one-day casualty toll on the streets of Ukraine since its independence from the Soviet Union--will make it harder for either side to pull back from the political confrontation that is threatening to split the country.

这是乌克兰脱离前苏联以来街头抗议中伤亡最惨重的一天。如此多的伤亡数量将使任何一方都更难从这场可能导致国家分裂的政治对峙中抽身而退。

Opposition officials said seven protesters were killed, some from gunshot wounds. Authorities said two police officers were killed from gunshot wounds, apparently in fighting early in the day with protesters, who had hurled stones and Molotov cocktails.

反对派领导人说，有七名抗议者丧生，其中有些人死于枪伤。乌克兰政府方面说，有两名警察死于枪伤，他们明显是当天早些时候在与投掷石块和燃烧弹的抗议者发生冲突时受的伤。

The fighting began when the protesters, angry that President Viktor Yanukovych wasn't moving forward with constitutional changes to surrender some powers to the prime minister, tried to march on parliament.

这场冲突的起因是抗议者们不满总统亚努科维奇(Viktor Yanukovych)在修改宪法上寸步不前，不肯将一些权力分给总理，因而试图向国会进军。

They were met by large numbers of riot police and fighting quickly ensued.

他们中途遭到大批防暴警察的拦截，双方很快爆发了冲突。

Protesters ranging from elderly women to young men formed bucket brigades to pass broken paving stones to people nearer the police, who hurled them into their ranks. Police responded with concussion grenades and rubber bullets.

抗议者们组成接力队，传递破成碎块的铺路石，由靠近对手的前排人向警方阵营投掷。警方则以震撼手雷和橡胶子弹回应。

Although police managed to clear some protesters from central Kiev later in the day, others appeared to be girding for a longer fight. Some took back Kiev's city hall, which they had vacated over the weekend, and in western Ukraine at least three regions said they would send buses of reinforcements to Kiev.

虽然警方当日晚些时候成功将部分抗议者逐出基辅中心地带，其他人则似乎准备打场长久战。一些人又重新占领了上周末撤离的市政厅。乌克兰西部，至少有三个地区的抗议者表示将向基辅增援。

Authorities, who shut down the city's subway system earlier in the day, announced they would restrict all transport into the city starting at midnight.

有关部门当天早些时候关闭了基辅的地铁，宣布将从午夜开始限制一切进入该市的交通。

By nightfall police, supported by armored personnel carriers and water cannons, rumbled slowly forward through barricades to the edge of the main encampment at Independence Square.

夜幕降临前，配备了装甲车和高压水枪的警察缓缓通过路障，来到基辅独立广场(Independence Square)主要营地的边缘。

Protesters tossed burning debris--construction materials, spare tires, a discarded Christmas tree--in their path to try to stop them, and threw rocks and fireworks as opposition leaders led them in singing Ukraine's national anthem.

抗议者不断投掷建筑材料、备用轮胎和丢弃的圣诞树等燃烧杂物，试图阻止警察的行进，而且还扔石块和鞭炮，反对派领袖带着他们唱起了乌克兰国歌。

Some had welded together what appeared to be a massive blow torch, consisting of pipe hooked up to a propane tank, that they dragged towards police lines. Some tents on Kiev's main thoroughfare were also on fire.

一些人将管子和丙烷罐连接起来，焊接成一个巨大的喷枪，并往警察队伍那里拖。基辅主要大街上的一些帐篷也在燃烧。

Western capitals repeated calls for calm and denounced the violence, without specifying who had started it.

西方国家不断呼吁有关方面保持冷静，并对暴力表示谴责，但没有具体指出谁是始作俑者。

But Moscow, which on Monday announced it was restoring a financial lifeline to Mr. Yanukovych's government, squarely blamed the protesters. It has long pushed the president to crack down on them.

不过，俄罗斯政府将指责矛头直接对准了抗议者。俄罗斯政府周一宣布，将恢复对亚努科维奇政府至关重要的资金援助。长期以来，俄罗斯一直鼓励亚努科维奇打击抗议活动。

Russia's foreign ministry also laid blame on Western officials, who it said 'from the very start of the crisis have been closing their eyes to the aggressive actions of radical forces in Ukraine.'

俄罗斯外交部也对西方官员进行了谴责，说他们从危机一开始便对乌克兰激进势力的好斗行为视而不见。