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FormerPresident Donald Trump stated this past Sunday that he is not really contemplating supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard his plane, he responded, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense informed the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to allow such a transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Without Missile Lack

While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to wage a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's armed and key objectives, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two ships, according to Russian authorities. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the latest international restrictions on Russia, as reported by industry insiders. The country is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's lead in reducing imports.

STAR Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkish refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased multiple shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian producers for December delivery, as per insiders. This amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for virtually the entirety of the plant's crude intake in October and September, amounting to about 210 thousand barrels per day, according to trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras – was also raising acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, as stated by multiple insiders. Tupras was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at a key facility of its two main Turkish plants to continue petroleum exports to Europe without breaching the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Sends Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an intense Moscow's offensive involving a large number of soldiers, as stated by Ukraine's senior military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply route for the Kyiv's military and has been under Moscow’s sights for more than a twelve months as Russia pushes to seize the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Updates in the City

No fewer than 200 Russian soldiers had penetrated the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while analysts concluded that others were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the combat in the city and “successes in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defense System

The president, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to counter Russia’s strikes, announced on Sunday that the country had reinforced its air defense network with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense,” he said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not providing additional details, the Ukraine's leader specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Moscow's Strikes Claim Innocents, Disrupt Power

Russian drones and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of no fewer than six individuals, among them 2 minors, and disrupted power to tens of thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged eleven and fourteen, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. The attacks cut power to the entire eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. The Eastern military unit said a number of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.