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Ex-President Trump stated on Sunday that he is not actively considering sending Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Earlier reports had suggested the Pentagon informed the White House that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to allow this transfer.

Ukraine's Military Efforts Persist Despite Missile Shortage

Although Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to wage a effective operation using its own drones and rockets against Russian military and key targets, including oil depots and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and harming two vessels, according to Russian officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Non-Russian Oil Sources

Ankara's largest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of alternative crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Moscow, as reported by industry insiders. Turkey is a major purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and India, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's example in reducing imports.

STAR Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

A major Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has recently purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional non-Russian suppliers for year-end delivery, according to insiders. This represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian crude, depending on cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Non-Russian Buys

Another major Turkey's refiner – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, as stated by two insiders. The company was also likely to soon completely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary main Turkish refineries to maintain petroleum exports to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for comment.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Russian offensive involving a large number of soldiers, according to Ukraine's senior military leader. The city, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a major supply line for the Kyiv's military and has been in Moscow’s sights for over a twelve months as Russia pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in the City

At least two hundred Moscow's troops had breached the city's defences, Kyiv said last week, while military experts concluded that others were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his evening address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defense systems to hold off Russia’s strikes, announced on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defence,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Without providing further information, the Ukraine's leader singled out Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and rockets targeting Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than 6 people, including 2 minors, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of residents, officials said on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors of ages eleven and 14, stated the nation's ombudsman. The attacks cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Vostok army group confirmed some of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.