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Ex-President Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not actively planning providing Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had suggested the Pentagon informed the administration that American inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to enable this delivery.

Ukraine's Military Actions Persist Despite Missile Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching attacks against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a effective campaign using its own drones and rockets against Russian military and strategic targets, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack struck the Tuapse oil port on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two vessels, according to Moscow officials. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkish Refineries Turn to Alternative Oil Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refineries are increasing procurement of alternative crude in reaction to the recent international restrictions on Russia, according to market insiders. The country is a major purchaser of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following India's example in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and other alternative suppliers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian crude, depending on shipment volume. In contrast, Russian crude made up virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand bpd, based on market information. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another leading Turkish refiner – Tupras – was also increasing acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to two sources. The company was also likely to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at a key facility of its primary main Turkish refineries to continue fuel shipments to Europe without breaching the EU’s incoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's offensive comprising a large number of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian army and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Russia aims to seize the whole east Donetsk area.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than 200 Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while military experts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his evening address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

The president, who has been pushing his partners for more air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, stated on this past Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated American defense systems. Not offering further details, the Ukrainian president singled out Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Civilians, Cut Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles fired at Ukraine killed at least 6 people, including two minors, and disrupted power to tens of thousands of households, officials said on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The strikes disrupted power to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.