NEVER in the field of human conflict was so much risked by one man for so little.(在人类冲突史上，从未有人为如此微不足道的利益冒如此巨大的风险。) Donald Trump is threatening to cripple(严重削弱，使瘫痪) Ukraine in its fight for survival—and to expose Europe to Russian aggression—seemingly for the pitiful prize(可悲的奖赏) of minimising(使最小化，将……降到最低) his losses in next month’s midterm elections(美国中期选举). The hard question is what Ukraine and its allies should do.
在人类冲突史上，从未有人为如此微不足道的利益冒如此巨大的风险。唐纳德·特朗普正威胁要削弱乌克兰的生存之战，并让欧洲暴露在俄罗斯的侵略之下——而这一切似乎只是为了一个可悲的目标：将他在下个月中期选举中的损失降到最低。真正棘手的问题是，乌克兰及其盟友该如何应对。
On October 9th Mr Trump said he and Vladimir Putin had agreed that Russia will export 2.2m barrels(桶（石油计量单位）) of diesel, with the promise of more later. Mr Trump declared an energy ceasefire(停火) that Russia will not observe. His officials demanded that Ukraine should stop targeting Russian refineries(炼油厂), suggesting that America would withhold intelligence(扣留情报) and weapons sales if it does not. On the night of October 13th a Pentagon-controlled part of the Starlink(星链卫星系统) satellite system was degraded(被降级，被削弱) for fast-moving Ukrainian drones—stopping them hitting hard-to-spot targets in Russian-occupied territory.
10月9日，特朗普表示他与弗拉基米尔·普京已达成协议，俄罗斯将出口220万桶柴油，并承诺后续还会增加。特朗普宣布了一项俄罗斯根本不会遵守的能源停火。他的官员要求乌克兰停止打击俄罗斯炼油厂，并暗示如果乌克兰不照做，美国将扣留情报和武器销售。10月13日晚，由五角大楼控制的星链卫星系统部分功能被降级，影响了乌克兰快速移动的无人机——阻止它们打击俄罗斯占领区内难以发现的目标。
All this is terrible for Ukraine, which must choose between losing crucial intelligence and weapons and carrying out the deep strikes on refineries that are its best answer to continuing Russian attacks on its cities.(这一切对乌克兰极为不利，它必须在失去关键情报和武器与继续对炼油厂进行深度打击之间做出选择，而后者是乌克兰应对俄罗斯持续袭击其城市的最佳手段。) It also gives succour(援助，救济) to Mr Putin. He can make some money and continue illicit(非法的，不正当的) oil sales to buyers such as India and China that America had been threatening with sanctions(制裁). If any deal holds, he also stands to gain(可能获得，有望得到) Mr Trump’s help in protecting his battered(饱受打击的，破败的) refineries.
这一切对乌克兰极为不利，它必须在失去关键情报和武器与继续对炼油厂进行深度打击之间做出选择，而后者是乌克兰应对俄罗斯持续袭击其城市的最佳手段。这同时也助长了普京的气焰。他可以赚些钱，并继续向印度和中国等买家非法出售石油，而美国此前一直威胁要制裁这些买家。如果协议得以维持，他还能获得特朗普的帮助，保护其饱受打击的炼油厂。