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Ex-President Trump stated on Sunday that he was not seriously planning sending Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist on his plane, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had claimed the Pentagon told the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Despite Missile Shortage

Although Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range strikes against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian military and key targets, including oil depots and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack struck the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Alternative Crude Supplies

Ankara's largest oil refineries are boosting procurement of alternative crude in reaction to the recent international sanctions on Russia, according to market insiders. The country is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and India, but processing companies are following India's example in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkish refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative suppliers for year-end arrival, according to sources. These purchases represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude accounted for virtually the entirety of the plant's supply in October and September, amounting to about 210 thousand bpd, based on market information. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

The other leading Turkey's refiner – Tupras – was additionally raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, according to multiple sources. The company was also expected to soon completely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary main Turkish plants to maintain petroleum shipments to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Sends Elite Units to Eastern City

Ukraine has deployed elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Russian assault involving thousands of troops, according to Ukraine's senior military leader. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a major logistical route for the Kyiv's army and has been in Moscow’s sights for more than a twelve months as Moscow pushes to control the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Developments in the City

No fewer than 200 Moscow's soldiers had penetrated the city's defences, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in the city and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defense Network

The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defences to counter Russia’s attacks, announced on this past Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence network with Germany’s support. “We've boosted the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Not offering additional information, the Ukrainian leader specifically thanked Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Kill Civilians, Cut Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles fired at Ukraine took the lives of at least 6 individuals, among them 2 minors, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of residents, officials said on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged 11 and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as almost 58 thousand households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. Ukraine’s Eastern army group said some of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.