Moscow headed deeper into international isolation on Sunday as Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia in a referendum condemned by the EU and US as illegal.

随着乌克兰的克里米亚半岛在一场被欧美谴责为“非法”的全民公投中以压倒多数的结果投票赞成重新加入俄罗斯，莫斯科昨日更深地陷入了国际孤立。

With Russia set to face international sanctions over the referendum as early as today, its central bank has told lenders emergency liquidity measures first used in the 2008 financial crisis could be swiftly reactivated if needed, financiers in Moscow said.

在克里米亚半岛，公投的投票率很高。投票在当地时间晚上8时结束。克里米亚当局表示，这次公投的投票率为82%，根据目前统计出来的一半的点票结果，超过95%的人赞成重新加入俄罗斯。鉴于俄罗斯最早从今日起就可能因为这场公投受到国际制裁，据莫斯科金融业人士透露，俄央行已告诉各银行，如果需要的话，可迅速重新启动曾在2008年金融危机期间首次使用的紧急流动性措施。

Concerns continued to mount, meanwhile, that the military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine could escalate beyond Crimea. As tens of thousands of Russian troops massed for “exercises” just east of Ukraine, Kiev’s government yesterday sent soldiers and equipment to reinforce its eastern border.

与此同时，人们越来越担忧，俄罗斯和乌克兰之间的军事冲突可能升级到克里米亚以外的地方。数万兵力的俄军部队沿着乌克兰东部边境以“演习”为名集结，有鉴于此，乌克兰政府昨日调动军人和装备加强东部边境的防卫。

The geopolitical showdown has already sparked Europe’s biggest security crisis since the Cold War. The US and EU had urged Russia and the newly installed pro-Russian leadership in Crimea not to proceed with a referendum they feared could undermine the system of respect for national sovereignty that has helped to preserve peace in Europe.

这场地缘政治摊牌已经引发了冷战结束以来欧洲最大的安全危机。美国和欧盟此前敦促俄罗斯以及新近掌权的克里米亚亲俄领导人不要举行公投，担心公投可能破坏各方对国家主权体系的尊重，而这一体系几十年来被证明是有助于维持欧洲和平的。

The White House condemned the referendum and said it would not recognise the results of the poll “administered under threats of violence and intimidation”. It added: “In this century, we are long past the days when the international community will stand quietly by while one country forcibly seizes the territory of another.”

白宫谴责了公投，并表示将不承认“在暴力和恐吓的威胁之下举行的”这场投票的结果。白宫方面补充称：“在本世纪，我们早已告别了一国抢夺别国的领土、而国际社会坐视不管的日子。”

With the EU condemning the Crimean referendum as “illegal and illegitimate”, EU foreign ministers are poised to approve sanctions to punish Russia at a meeting today. These are set to include asset freezes and visa bans on individuals involved with the seizure of Crimea.

鉴于欧盟谴责克里米亚公投是“非法和不正当的”，欧盟各国外长将在今日开会期间批准旨在惩罚俄罗斯的制裁措施。预计这些措施将包括资产冻结和签证禁令，矛头指向参与抢占克里米亚的人员。

EU ambassadors were meeting last night to debate the potential target list of Russian and Crimean officials and resolve differences over how senior the individuals affected should be. The eventual extent of sanctions will depend on whether Russia moves immediately to annex Crimea, and whether its military moves into others parts of Ukraine.

欧盟各国大使昨晚开会，就俄罗斯和克里米亚官员的潜在制裁名单展开辩论，并解决关于制裁应涉及多高级别官员的分歧。制裁的最终程度将取决于俄罗斯是否立即动手吞并克里米亚，以及俄军是否进入乌克兰其他地区。

The prospect of sanctions against Russia – and Moscow’s pledge to respond with measures of its own – has also started to have economic and financial repercussions, with the rouble and Russia’s stock market falling sharply.

对俄罗斯实施制裁的前景，以及莫斯科方面以牙还牙的威胁，已经引发了经济和金融冲击波，卢布和俄罗斯股市大幅下滑。

On the peninsula, turnout for the referendum was high. Polls closed at 8pm local time and early forecasts showed 93 per cent in favour of rejoining Russia – of which Crimea was part until transferred to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954.

克里米亚曾是俄罗斯的一部分，只是在1954年才由苏联领导人尼基塔•赫鲁晓夫(Nikita Khrushchev)划归乌克兰苏维埃社会主义共和国。

With Russia cementing its control over Crimea, the stand-off between Moscow and Kiev is shifting to the largely Russian speaking cities of eastern Ukraine. Demonstrations took place yesterday, amid accusations from locals that they were being orchestrated by activists from across the border in Russia.

在俄罗斯巩固其对克里米亚的控制之际，莫斯科和基辅之间的对峙转向乌克兰东部主要讲俄语的几个城市。昨日出现了一些示威活动；据当地人指控，这些示威活动是由从俄罗斯越境进入乌克兰的活动分子策划的。

Thousands of protesters demanded the right to hold referendums on their own future status. In Donetsk pro-Russian demonstrators stormed the prosecutor’s office, tearing down the Ukrainian flag from the building and replacing it with Russian flags.

数以千计的示威者要求获得举行全民公投、决定自己未来地位的权利。在顿涅茨克(Donetsk)，亲俄示威者冲进检察院大楼，从楼顶撕下乌克兰国旗，用俄罗斯国旗取而代之。

Amid signs the military stand-off in Ukraine could spread, US secretary of state John Kerry yesterday sharply criticised an incursion by Russian soldiers a day earlier on to a spit of land beyond the boundary of Crimea.

在有迹象显示乌克兰军事对峙可能蔓延之际，美国国务卿约翰•克里(John Kerry)昨日尖锐批评俄军官兵星期六（3月15日）进入克里米亚界线以外一块土地的行为。