譯/羅方妤
烏克蘭陸戰膠著 但以無人機在海上取得戰果
Bouncing over choppy waters, the Ukrainian sea drones fanned out and sped toward the Russian warship in a swarming tactic that military experts say has proved lethal and effective against what had been a dominant naval power on the Black Sea.
烏克蘭海上無人機飛過波濤洶湧水面，呈扇形散開，以蜂擁戰術向俄國戰艦衝去。軍事專家表示，事實證明，這對於曾主宰黑海的俄國海軍艦隊是致命且有效的。
From the safety of a room hundreds of miles away, the drones' pilots pushed forward joysticks to accelerate, steer and swivel deck-mounted cameras, keeping their target in sight. Russian sailors opened fire with heavy machine guns.
在數百英里外的安全房間內，無人機操作員向前推動操縱桿，讓無人機加速和行進，並旋轉安裝在機上的攝影機，讓目標一直保持在視線範圍內。俄軍水兵則用重機槍開火。
A brief sea battle between men and drones erupted over several minutes, according to an account from the Ukrainian drone operators. One drone sped so close to its target, they said, that when bullets struck the 500-pound warhead it was carrying, the explosion breached the hull of the Russian corvette patrol ship, the Sergey Kotov.
根據烏國無人機操作員描述，這一場人員和無人機爆發的短促海戰持續數分鐘。他們說，一架無人機非常接近目標，當子彈擊中該機攜帶的500磅彈頭時，爆炸也擊穿俄軍巡邏艦「柯托夫號」船體。
"When we hit the target, the whole team, of course, was filled with emotion," said the operator of the drone. The pilot asked to be identified only by a nickname, Thirteen, while describing the battle at sea Sept. 14, one of dozens of such engagements over the past year, according to the Ukrainian military, using drones built by Ukraine.
這架無人機的操作員說：「我們擊中目標時，整個團隊當然都情緒激昂。」這名操作員描述這場9月14日的海戰時，要求只以暱稱13稱呼他。烏國軍方指出，這是過去一年他們使用烏克蘭製無人機進行的數十次戰鬥之一。
Such attacks have been a rare bright spot in a disappointing year for Ukraine with no frontline breakthrough on the ground.
對烏克蘭而言，在前線沒有任何突破的令人失望一年裡，這類攻擊是罕見亮點。
"We were screaming and congratulating one another," the pilot said, describing the mood among the drone operators in September.
這名操作員描述無人機操作員們9月時的情緒，表示：「我們當時尖叫並互相祝賀。」
The use of the sea drones highlights a path forward for Ukraine in its fight with Russia that has been promoted by the White House and embraced by the Ukrainian leadership. The idea is to supplement weaponry provided by Western partners with armaments produced domestically by Ukraine, including innovative systems like the sea drone fleet.
使用海上無人機，凸顯烏國與俄國作戰時前進的道路，美國白宮推動這個想法，也被烏國領導層採用。這個想法是用烏國國內製造的武器，包括海上無人機隊等創新系統，來補充西方夥伴援助武器。
Some in the U.S. military want Ukraine to pursue a "hold-and-build" strategy — to focus on holding the territory it has now and building an ability to produce its own weapons over 2024.
美國軍方有些人希望烏國採取「守成並蓄積實力」策略，專注於守住現有領土，並在2024年建立能力生產自己的武器。
With a Ukrainian offensive now stalled, and little chance for advancing on land, the goal would be to create enough of a credible threat with long-range drones and missiles that there would be an opportunity for meaningful negotiations with Russia at the end of next year or in 2025.
隨著烏國攻勢如今陷入停滯，在地面推進的機會很小，這個策略的目標會是用長程無人機和飛彈創造足夠可靠的威脅，以便有機會在明年底或2025年和俄國進行有意義的談判。
Ukrainian sea drones, said Thirteen, the pilot who helped cripple the Sergey Kotov, have cleared a swath out to 200 or so miles from the Ukrainian coast. "It's possible to push them back," he said. "Russia's reign on the Black Sea is over."
協助擊毀俄軍巡邏艦「柯托夫號」的操作員13表示，烏克蘭海上無人機已清除距離烏國海岸200英里左右的區域，「有可能擊退他們，俄國對黑海的宰制已經結束」。
