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FormerPresident Trump stated on Sunday that he was not really planning providing Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not currently.” Earlier reports had indicated the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to enable such a transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Continue Despite Weapon Lack

Although Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching strikes against Russian targets, it has still managed to conduct a successful operation using its own drones and rockets against Russian military and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack targeted the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be closed.

Turkish Refineries Shift to Alternative Crude Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in response to the latest international sanctions on Russia, according to industry insiders. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, together with China and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring New Delhi's lead in cutting back imports.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Procurement

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative suppliers for year-end arrival, according to sources. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for virtually the entirety of the plant's crude intake in October and September, amounting to approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Increasing Alternative Buys

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, as stated by multiple insiders. Tupras was furthermore expected to soon completely eliminate Russian crude at one of its two main Turkish plants to maintain petroleum exports to the EU without violating the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Sends Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Moscow's assault involving thousands of soldiers, according to Ukraine's senior military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply line for the Ukrainian army and has been under Russia's crosshairs for more than a year as Russia aims to seize the entire east Donetsk area.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than 200 Moscow's troops had penetrated the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while analysts assessed that others were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his evening address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defence Network

The president, who has been urging his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's attacks, stated on this past Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air defense network with Berlin's support. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without providing additional details, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Germany and its leader, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Russian Strikes Kill Innocents, Disrupt Power

Russian drones and rockets fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of at least six individuals, including 2 children, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of residents, authorities reported on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were two boys of ages eleven and fourteen, said the nation's ombudsman. The attacks disrupted electricity to the entire eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. Ukraine’s Vostok army group confirmed a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy attacks on the region.