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Ex-President Donald Trump stated this past Sunday that he is not actively contemplating supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist on his plane, he responded, “No, not at the moment.” Recent reports had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense informed the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Continue Without Missile Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching attacks against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to wage a effective operation using its domestically-produced drones and missiles against Russian military and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, causing a fire and harming two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Refineries Turn to Alternative Oil Supplies

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in reaction to the recent international sanctions on Russia, as reported by market insiders. Turkey is a major purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's example in reducing imports.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkish refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azeri company SOCAR, has recently purchased four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and other alternative suppliers for year-end arrival, according to insiders. This represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative supply, depending on cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly all of the plant's supply in recent months, amounting to approximately 210 thousand bpd, according to market data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by two insiders. Tupras was also likely to soon entirely eliminate imports from Russia at one of its two main domestic refineries to continue petroleum exports to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Russian offensive involving a large number of soldiers, according to Ukraine's top commander. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply line for the Kyiv's army and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow aims to seize the entire east Donetsk area.

Latest Developments in the City

At least two hundred Moscow's troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while military experts assessed that others were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in the city and “results in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Enhanced Air Defense System

The president, who has been urging his partners for additional air defences to counter Russia’s attacks, announced on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air defense network with Germany’s support. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated American defense systems. Not providing further details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory killed no fewer than 6 people, among them 2 children, and disrupted electricity to thousands of residents, authorities said on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys of ages 11 and 14, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The strikes cut power to the entire eastern Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group said some of its members were killed in a particular of the enemy attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.