astride

　プーチン首相はウクライナに対してDebaltseveの奪還を諦め，新ロシア派に渡すように迫りました。Debaltseveは停戦後に戦闘が激しくなり，立ち入ることが困難となっております。街の大部分が新ロシア派に制圧されたという情報もあります。
　記事の中で気になった単語は"astride"です。『Wisdom英和辞典第三版』（三省堂）をみると「(馬・バイクなどに)またがって, 両足を広げて，（の）両側にある」などという意味がありました。Oxford Dictionaryの定義には"extending across"とありました。"across"よりもまたがる範囲が大きいと感じました。
　しかし，例文を見ると"astride""the port stands astride an international route"，"across", "travelling across Europe"とあり，どちらの前置詞もまたがる範囲が広いことが分かりました。(Ume)

Putin urges Ukraine troops to give up Debaltseve

The wealth of claim and counter-claim around Debaltseve speaks volumes. It's hard to confirm any of today's stories.

Controversy surrounds the fate of dozens of government troops - rebel sources say they surrendered, while the army contends they were captured after running out of ammunition during an ambush.

The rebels say Debaltseve is not covered by the ceasefire agreement reached last week in Minsk and continue to insist that it's an "internal" matter. Between April and July last year, the town was in rebel hands. It sits astride the railway line linking two rebel strongholds, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukrainian TV has shown pictures of text messages sent to government soldiers in Debaltseve, allegedly from Russia. "Poroshenko and his generals have betrayed you," the messages read, referring to the Ukrainian president. "There's no need for you to die for them."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31511926

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