Ukraine advances into Russian territory: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme, Ukraine fights back inside Russia.

Hello, I'm Neil.

And I'm Beth.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet, on our website, BBCLearningEnglish.com.

So, let's hear more about this story.

So, the Ukrainian military says its troops now hold 74 towns and villages

inside Russia, after a military operation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says

the offensive operations can help bring peace closer

by putting pressure on Russia.

But the Russian president Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine

of committing crimes against Russian people and said Kyiv,

that's the capital of Ukraine,

would receive a response.

It's a big moment in the war

as it's the first time Ukraine has completed a significant attack

across the Russian border.

Let's have our first headline.

Ukraine pummels Russia in bid to carve out bigger slice of territory.

And that's from Reuters.

Again, that headline: Ukraine pummels Russia

in bid to carve out bigger slice of territory.

And that's from Reuters.

So, lots of interesting vocabulary in this headline.

It's about the fighting between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine pummels Russia –

that means Ukraine is hitting Russia over and over.

Yeah, but we are looking at the phrase 'carve out a bigger slice'.

Now, let's break this down and start with 'carve out'.

Neil, what does that mean?

So, 'carve out' means to cut into a hard material like rock to make space.

Think about an underground tunnel for a train.

We have to carve out space in the rock for the train to get through,

and that is a very difficult thing to do.

Yeah, and that difficulty is key to the meaning,

so we can also use carve out metaphorically.

If a person carves out a career

then they create a professional career for themselves.

But usually it means that that was difficult -

it required a lot of hard work.

Yes. So, in the headline, 'carve out', is kind of metaphorical.

It's not saying that Ukraine is literally digging into Russia,

but instead that Ukraine wants to take more land from Russia

through lots of hard work.

Exactly. Now, the headline also says that Ukraine is trying to carve out

a bigger slice of territory.

Now, a slice is a part of something.

Think about a slice of cake or a slice of pizza.

Yes. And so this is a very visual headline.

It's talking about the war for territory in Russia

like it's cutting the country up into different slices.

And we have another common expression with slice, which is 'slice of the pie'

or 'slice of the cake'.

And we use that to talk about our share in something, usually money or benefits.

So, for example, if your business partner wants a bigger slice of the pie,

that means they want a larger share of your profits.

We had: carve out a bigger slice –

take a larger piece of something using lots of effort.

For example – The company want to carve out a bigger slice of the market

and make record profits this year.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about Ukraine's recent military attack inside Russia.

Now, as we mentioned, this is the first time in the war

that Ukraine has been able to capture a big area of Russian land.

The first reports that Ukrainian soldiers had entered Russia

began last week, but at first people thought this was just a small attack.

And that's because Ukraine had kept their offensive operation,

that's a coordinated military attack, a secret.

Now, we have a headline about Ukraine's surprise action.

It's from The Atlantic, which is based in the United States.

And the headline is: Ukraine Was Biding Its Time.

Again, that headline: Ukraine Was Biding Its Time,

and that is from the Atlantic in the US.

And we're looking at the phrase 'biding its time'.

What does that mean?

Well, Neil, if you bide your time, it means you wait,

and usually for an opportunity.

Yeah. So the headline writer says Ukraine was biding its time.

That means Ukraine was waiting for the right opportunity to attack Russia.

Exactly. Are there any other situations when we talk about biding time?

Yes, we use this a lot.

So, for example, you might want to buy a new TV,

but you're waiting for the sales so that the price drops –

you bide your time before you buy it.

You could also bide your time waiting for a promotion so you don't rush –

you wait for the opportunity.

You can also tell someone to bide their time.

So, Neil, I know that you want to go for a year and travel around the world,

but you've got to bide your time and wait for the kids to be a bit older.

They're a bit young, aren't they?

They are. We've had biding its time, waiting patiently for an opportunity.

For example – My friend waited ages to sell his car.

He was biding his time until the right offer came along.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English,

and we're talking about Ukraine's offensive in Russia.

Thousands of people have been asked to evacuate Kursk,

a region of western Russia where the fighting is happening.

Now, as we've heard,

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will retaliate.

Ukraine's biggest allies, such as Germany and the US,

have supported its action,

but people are worried about how Russia might respond.

We have a headline about the international reaction

to Ukraine's fighting in Russia,

and this is from Politico.

Kyiv's offensive gets a greenish light from its allies.

That headline again: Kyiv's offensive gets a greenish light from its allies.

And that's from the European website Politico.

We're looking at 'gets a greenish light'. Greenish?

Beth, what's going on here?

OK. So this is a bit of a playful headline,

and it uses a very common phrase in English – 'get a green light'.

Yeah. So if something or someone gets the green light,

that means they get approval or permission for something.

Now, think about traffic lights –

red light means stop and green light means go. Exactly.

Now you can also give something or someone a green light,

and that means that you give your approval or permission.

And something can be greenlit.

That means it has approval.

So, for example, we could say that plans to build a new hospital

have been greenlit by the government.

OK. But in the headline, it's not 'a green light',

it's 'a greenish light'.

Yeah. So we add -ish to an adjective to say that it's almost that thing.

So, a greenish light is nearly green, but not quite.

If I said I went to a play that was funnyish,

it means it was quite funny but not really funny.

And so if Kyiv gets a greenish light from other countries,

it means it gets approval for the attack, but not completely –

there are limits.

Now remember this is an opinion,

so the headline is suggesting that there are some people worried

about the war between Russia and Ukraine escalating –

that means getting worse.

We've had gets

a greenish light, which means gets approval, but not completely.

For example – My plans for my mum's birthday party got the greenish light –

she's not sure yet about the crocodile theme.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

And if you've enjoyed this programme, find more news stories to help you

with your English on our website,

BBCLearningEnglish.com.

Don't forget you can find us on social media. Search for BBC Learning English.

Bye for now. Goodbye.