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Ex-President Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not seriously contemplating supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a reporter aboard his plane, he responded, “No, not at the moment.” Recent reports had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to allow such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Persist Without Weapon Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to wage a successful campaign using its own drones and missiles against Russian military and strategic targets, such as fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack targeted the Tuapse oil port on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two ships, according to Moscow authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Oil Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the latest western restrictions on Moscow, according to market sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but processing companies are following India's lead in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Diversifies Crude Procurement

One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has lately acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other alternative suppliers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing purchases of non-Russian types of crude, according to two insiders. The company was also likely to soon completely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its two main domestic refineries to maintain fuel shipments to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Moscow's offensive involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a major logistical line for the Kyiv's military and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for over a year as Russia aims to seize the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Developments in the City

No fewer than 200 Moscow's troops had breached the city's defensive lines, Kyiv reported recently, while military experts assessed that others were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his evening address on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Announces Enhanced Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, announced on this past Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air defense network with Germany’s assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” Zelenskyy declared, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not providing further details, the Ukrainian president singled out Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Moscow's Strikes Claim Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory killed at least six people, including two minors, and cut electricity to thousands of households, officials said on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were two boys of ages 11 and 14, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. The strikes disrupted power to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Eastern army group confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.