Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A dangerous moment: On Vladimir Putin’s troop mobilisation

A dangerous moment: On Vladimir Putin’s troop mobilisation

Vladimir Putin should see setbacks as evidence of the irrationality (तर्कहीनता, अतार्किकता, अव्यवहारिकता) of war

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial troop mobilisation (लामबंदी) marks (प्रतीक होना, संकेत करना) an acknowledgement (स्वीकृति, प्रवेश, मान्यता) of the limits of his “special military operation” in Ukraine and a readiness (तत्परता, तैयारी, इच्छा) to escalate (बढ़ाना, तेज करना) the conflict (संघर्ष, युद्ध, सशस्त्र संघर्ष) in response to setbacks (नाकामयाबी, समस्या, कठिनाई). His original plan was to meet his military objectives (उद्देश्य, इरादा) through a limited war. He had mobilised ((of forces/people/resources) bring together for a specific cause) more than 1,50,000 troops (सैन्यदल, सशस्त्र बल, सेना) and ordered a sharp thrust (ज़ोर, आक्रमण) into Ukraine from multiple fronts (सामने, स्थिति, दिशा) on February 24, but this plan did not quite (somewhat, relatively, comparatively) work as Ukrainian forces (सैनिक), backed  (support, defend, stand by, help, assist) militarily and economically by the U.S. and Europe, slowed down (धीमा करना, कम करना) the enemy’s advances (progress, headway, moving forward, forward movement) and made the invasion (attack, offensive, onslaught, incursion, assault) costly (महँगा, कीमती) for the Russians. Earlier, Mr. Putin had to withdraw (disengage, depart, leave, retreat, pull back, pull out (of military troops from an area of conflict)) troops from around Kyiv (Capital of Ukraine) and Kharkiv (a city in northeast Ukraine) and focus on Ukraine’s east and south where the Russians made territorial (relating to a particular territory (area/region)) gains. But Russia suffered (experience, undergo, experience, face, encounter (something bad or unpleasant)) its first major battlefield defeats earlier this month in Kharkiv Oblast in the northeast where its troops had to retreat in the face of a lightning (quick, fast, swift, rapid, expeditious) Ukrainian counter-offensive (counter-attack). This setback seemed to have quickened (accelerate, speed up, expedite, hasten) Kremlin’s (The name “Kremlin” means “fortress inside a city”, and is often also used metonymically to refer to the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation in a similar sense to how “White House” refers to the Executive Office of the President of the United States; Kremlin is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow city. (Metonym is used as an alternative for something else with which it is closely related/associated)) move to consolidate (strengthen, reinforce, fortify, buttress, underpin, bolster up, defend) its positions in captured Ukrainian territories. Pro-Russia separatists (secessionist, dissident, protester, sectarian, nonconformist extremist, radical, revolutionary) in Luhansk, Donetsk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhya in the south are now planning to hold referendums (public vote; a direct vote in which people cast ballots to decide on a specific issue or policy) on joining the Russian Federation (commonly known as Russia; a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia) As the results are known even before the first ballot (the piece of paper used to record a vote) is cast, the door is now shutting on the possibility of a negotiated settlement of the conflict based on the pre-war borders.

For Mr. Putin, the escalation (intensification, aggravation, exacerbation) comes with added risks. He went into Ukraine with limited forces in the first place (at the beginning) because he knew that a general mobilisation, which would need nationwide conscription (compulsory enlistment for military service), could be unpopular (unfamous, disliked, hated, loathed). But almost eight months later, his war has not only failed to meet its declared objectives, which includes Ukraine’s “demilitarisation”, but has also seen a reinvigorated (revive, re-energize, rejuvenate; fortify, strengthen) NATO throwing its collective (common, shared, joint, combined) weight behind Ukraine and expanding itself further into the Russian borders by taking in Finland and Sweden as its members. Mr. Putin and his Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu acknowledged (accept, recognize, realize) the challenges on Wednesday. If Mr. Putin, who dialled up (increase, rise (the intensity of something)) the nuclear threat, said his troops are facing the best of “the Western (The Western world/civilization consisting of the majority of Europe & the North America) military machine” in Ukraine, Mr. Shoigu, whose Ministry till now avoided calling the military operation a war, said Russia today “is at war (engaged in a war) with the collective West”. Faced with battlefield setbacks, sanctions (action taken, or an order given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc) and geopolitical (relating to (the study of) the geographical factors (a country’s position on the earth, size, climate, and natural resources &, etc.) in world politics and inter-state relations) challenges, Mr. Putin believes escalation is the way forward (something (a plan/action) that leads to success in the future). But there is no certainty (assurance) that a partial mobilisation would produce quick results and it could well trigger (cause, give rise to, lead to, bring about, generate) a cycle of escalation. All this means that the war is entering a far more (much more) dangerous phase.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.troops (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सैन्यदल, सशस्त्र बल, सेना
English Meaning - armed forces, forces, soldiers.

2.mobilisation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - लामबंदी
English Meaning - the act of bringing forces/people/resources together for a particular cause.

3.setback (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नाकामयाबी, समस्या, कठिनाई
English Meaning - problem, difficulty, issue.

4.irrationality (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तर्कहीनता, अतार्किकता, अव्यवहारिकता
English Meaning - illogicality, unreasonableness, impracticality.

5.mark (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतीक होना, संकेत करना
English Meaning - indicate, signify, represent, denote.

6.acknowledgement (noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्वीकृति, प्रवेश, मान्यता
English Meaning - acceptance, admission, recognition.

7.readiness (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तत्परता, तैयारी, इच्छा
English Meaning - preparedness, willingness, inclination.

8.escalate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बढ़ाना, तेज करना
English Meaning - increase, intensify, accelerate, heighten, deepen, make more serious.

9.conflict (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संघर्ष, युद्ध, सशस्त्र संघर्ष
English Meaning - war, armed conflict, battle, fighting.

10.objective (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उद्देश्य, इरादा
English Meaning - intention, purpose, intent, goal, aim.

11.thrust (noun)

Hindi Meaning - ज़ोर, आक्रमण
English Meaning - a forceful attack; assault, offensive, onslaught, invasion, incursion, blitz.

12.front (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सामने, स्थिति, दिशा
English Meaning - position, direction.

13.forces (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सैनिक
English Meaning - troops; armed forces, soldiers.

14.slow down (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - धीमा करना, कम करना
English Meaning - reduce, lessen, decrease.

15.costly (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - महँगा, कीमती
English Meaning - ruinous, disastrous, devastating, crippling, damaging, harmful, woeful, awful, terrible, unfortunate.

16.de-escalate (verb)

English Meaning - diminish, lessen/decrease, dwindle (the intensity of a conflict).

17.mobilise (verb)

English Meaning - (of forces/people/resources) bring together for a specific cause.

18.quite (adjective)

English Meaning - somewhat, relatively, comparatively.

19.back (verb)

English Meaning - support, defend, stand by, help, assist.

20.advances (noun)

English Meaning - progress, headway, moving forward, forward movement.

21.invasion (noun)

English Meaning - attack, offensive, onslaught, incursion, assault.

22.withdraw (verb)

English Meaning - disengage, depart, leave, retreat, pull back, pull out (of military troops from an area of conflict).

23.Kyiv (proper noun)

English Meaning - Capital of Ukraine.

24.Kharkiv (proper noun)

English Meaning - a city in northeast Ukraine.

25.territorial (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a particular territory (area/region).

26.suffer (verb)

English Meaning - experience, undergo, experience, face, encounter (something bad or unpleasant).

27.oblast (noun)

English Meaning - an administrative division or region in Russia and the former Soviet Union, and in some Slavic countries.

28.retreat (verb)

English Meaning - disengage, depart, leave, withdraw, pull back, pull out (of military troops from an area of conflict).

29.in the face of (phrase)

English Meaning - despite, notwithstanding, regardless of; when confronted with.

30.lightning (adjective)

English Meaning - quick, fast, swift, rapid, expeditious.

31.counter-offensive (noun)

English Meaning - counter-attack.

32.quicken (verb)

English Meaning - accelerate, speed up, expedite, hasten.

33.Kremlin (noun)

English Meaning - The name “Kremlin” means “fortress inside a city”, and is often also used metonymically to refer to the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation in a similar sense to how “White House” refers to the Executive Office of the President of the United States; Kremlin is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow city. (Metonym is used as an alternative for something else with which it is closely related/associated).

34.move (noun)

English Meaning - movement, activity.

35.consolidate (verb)

English Meaning - strengthen, reinforce, fortify, buttress, underpin, bolster up, defend.

36.pro- (prefix)

English Meaning - supporting.

37.separatist (noun)

English Meaning - secessionist, dissident, protester, sectarian, nonconformist extremist, radical, revolutionary.

38.Donbas region (noun)

English Meaning - a historical, cultural, and economic region in south-eastern Ukraine, some of whose territory (Donetsk and Luhansk) is occupied by two separatist groups in the course of the Russo-Ukrainian War. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has recognized the independence of these two separatist regions in Ukraine.

39.hold (verb)

English Meaning - conduct, organize, arrange.

40.referendum (noun)

English Meaning - public vote; a direct vote in which people cast ballots to decide on a specific issue or policy.

41.Russian Federation (noun)

English Meaning - commonly known as Russia; a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia.

42.ballot (noun)

English Meaning - the piece of paper used to record a vote.

43.ballot (noun)

English Meaning - vote, poll.

44.cast (verb)

English Meaning - vote, register a vote, enter a vote.

45.slam/shut the door on (phrase)

English Meaning - to refuse to consider/accept something (an idea, plan, solution, etc.); deny, reject, decline, spurn, dismiss (an idea/plan/solution).

46.escalation (noun)

English Meaning - intensification, aggravation, exacerbation.

47.in the first place (phrase)

English Meaning - at the beginning.

48.conscription (noun)

English Meaning - compulsory enlistment for military service.

49.unpopular (adjective)

English Meaning - unfamous, disliked, hated, loathed.

50.demilitarization (noun)

English Meaning - disarmament, arms control, limitation or reduction of arms, deactivation of military weapons, decommissioning (of arms/weapons).

51.reinvigorate (verb)

English Meaning - revive, re-energize, rejuvenate; fortify, strengthen.

52.reinvigorated (adjective)

English Meaning - revived, re-energized, rejuvenated; fortified, strengthened/strong

53.North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (noun)

English Meaning - NATO was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

54.throw one’s weight behind (phrase)

English Meaning - to use one’s power (influence) to support someone/something.

55.collective (adjective)

English Meaning - common, shared, joint, combined.

56.take in (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - include, incorporate, embody, encompass.

57.acknowledge (verb)

English Meaning - accept, recognize, realize.

58.dial up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - increase, rise (the intensity of something).

59.dial down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - reduce, lessen, decrease (the intensity of something).

60.the best of something (phrase)

English Meaning - used to refer to something very good.

61.at war (phrase)

English Meaning - engaged in a war.

62.the West (noun)

English Meaning - The Western world/civilization consisting of the majority of Europe & the North America.

63.sanctions (noun)

English Meaning - action taken, or an order given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc.

64.geopolitical (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to (the study of) the geographical factors (a country’s position on the earth, size, climate, and natural resources &, etc.) in world politics and inter-state relations.

65.the way forward (phrase)

English Meaning - something (a plan/action) that leads to success in the future.

66.certainty (noun)

English Meaning - assurance.

67.trigger (verb)

English Meaning - cause, give rise to, lead to, bring about, generate.

68.far more (phrase)

English Meaning - much more.