US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 20, 2024 (Sky)

EA on Times Radio and TVP World: Permission for Ukraine’s Long-Range Strikes on Russia?

Saturday’s Coverage: US Sanctions Russia’s Propaganda Machine

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1755 GMT:

At least 41 civilians, including three children, were injured by a Russian airstrike on a 12-story apartment building in Kharkiv city in northeast Ukraine.

Twelve people were hospitalized, and more people are under rubble.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky summarized:

Zelenskiy posted earlier that Russians had launched around 30 missiles, more than 800 guided aerial bombs, and almost 300 strike drones against Ukraine during the week.

He told CNN about the possibility of long-range Ukrainian strikes inside Russia:

Everyone is looking at the decisions of the United States. Everyone is waiting for such decisions. After that, decisions are made. This is true. And that is why we really wanted to use these weapons and simply attack military bases with these planes, and not civilian infrastructure.

UPDATE 0959 GMT:

IT professional Nina Slobodchikova has given an account of her 12‑year prison sentence in Russia for transferring $50 to Ukraine.

Speaking to the independent Russian outlet Mediazona, Slobodchikova said of her arrest in March 2023 and subsequent trial:

I transferred the money because I couldn’t not transfer it. At that moment, it seemed the only thing I could do to cope with the helplessness and guilt. Due to my poor physical and psychological state, I couldn’t think of another way. I saw this transfer as humanitarian aid. I understood there could be consequences if the situation worsened. But I thought it would be limited to a fine. Of course, I didn’t expect a treason case and a 12-year sentence.

She says of her detention:

For the most part, I manage to maintain a positive attitude. I believe all this darkness will end—we won’t even notice how or when. Later, looking back, we’ll understand: we’ve already lived through that darkest night before the long-awaited dawn. So now, the important thing is to preserve ourselves, so that we have the strength to rebuild our lives later.

Therefore, no misery for longer than an hour! And then do something pleasant, useful. For me, it’s books, meditation, learning something new, something creative.

UPDATE 0709 GMT:

At least seven civilians were killed by Russian attacks across Ukraine on Saturday.

Ukraine air defenses downed 10 of 14 Iran-type drones and a guided missile fired by Russia overnight.

Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and a X-59 guided aviation missile were launched at the Odesa region in southern Ukraine.

One of the missiles killed a man and a woman and injured a 65-year-old woman.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, three people were killed by shelling of an agricultural enterprise in the town of Huliaipole.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, the body of a 72-year-old woman was retrieved from rubble after Russia struck the village of Pisky-Radkivski.

In the Kherson region in the south, two people were killed and seven wounded by shelling. Targets included critical infrastructure facilities, educational and medical institutions, and residential areas, including two multi-story buildings and 22 private houses.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says there are “intense consultations” on permission for Ukraine’s long-range strikes inside Russia, amid reports that agreement has privately been reached on Kyiv’s use of UK-made Storm Shadow missiles.

Sullivan said on Saturday at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv:

I understand Ukraine’s perspective on it. But rather than me trying to elaborate on the reasoning one way or the other, this is something that I think is the subject of intense consultation among allies and partners, and will be between President [Biden] and President Zelenskiy.

The meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and US counterpart Joe Biden is likely to be on the sidelines of leaders’s sessions at the UN General Assembly later this month.

The US appeared ready to shift its position last week, permitting the firing of the Storm Shadows. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, alongside UK Foreign Minister David Lammy in Kyiv, that Washington has been willing to adapt its policy.

“European officials” said Biden was on the verge of approving the long-range strikes, as long as they are not with the US-supplied ATACMS. Other officials said the two governments are discussing provision of American navigation data to assist the British cruise missiles in their targeting.

But the officials explained that no decision would be announced during UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting with Biden in Washington last Friday, to avoid further provocation of Russia.

Vladimir Putin threatened that authorization of long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia”.

See also Ukraine War, Day 933: Putin Worries About Long-Range Strikes Inside Russia

Zelenskiy said on Friday at the Yalta European Strategy conference:

ATACMS in the form that we have today is pointless if you cannot use it on [Russian] military bases, airfields with helicopters and airplanes. It’s pointless.