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Ex-President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he was not seriously contemplating providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a reporter aboard his plane, he responded, “No, not currently.” Earlier accounts had indicated the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were sufficient to enable this transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Continue Without Weapon Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful operation using its own drones and rockets against Russian military and key targets, including oil depots and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the port facility on the coast, causing a fire and damaging two ships, as stated by Russian officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Alternative Oil Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are increasing purchases of alternative crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Russia, as reported by market sources. The country is a major purchaser of Russian crude, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's lead in cutting back supplies.

STAR Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

A major Turkish refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and other alternative producers for year-end arrival, according to insiders. These purchases amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude made up virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Purchases

The other leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by two insiders. Tupras was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary main Turkish plants to continue petroleum exports to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has deployed elite troops to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Moscow's offensive involving a large number of troops, as stated by Ukraine's top military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical line for the Kyiv's military and has been in Russia's crosshairs for over a twelve months as Moscow pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

At least 200 Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv reported last week, while analysts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in the city and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defense systems to hold off Moscow's strikes, announced on this past Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s support. “We have boosted the Patriot element of our national air defense,” he declared, mentioning the sophisticated American air-defence systems. Without offering additional information, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Strikes Kill Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Moscow's drones and rockets targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least six people, among them two minors, and cut power to tens of thousands of residents, officials reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were two boys aged 11 and 14, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The strikes disrupted power to the whole east Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit confirmed some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.