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Ex-President Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he was not actively considering providing Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a journalist aboard his plane, he replied, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense informed the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Persist Without Missile Lack

While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's military and key targets, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and harming two vessels, according to Russian officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Oil Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in response to the recent western restrictions on Russia, according to market sources. The country is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and India, but refiners are mirroring India's example in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian producers for December arrival, according to sources. This represent approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude accounted for virtually the entirety of the plant's crude intake in October and September, amounting to about 210,000 bpd, based on market data. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Also Boosting Alternative Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also increasing acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. Tupras was furthermore expected to soon completely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its two main domestic plants to maintain fuel exports to Europe without violating the European Union's upcoming restrictions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Russian offensive involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply route for the Ukrainian army and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a twelve months as Russia pushes to control the whole east Donetsk area.

Recent Developments in the City

At least 200 Moscow's soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while analysts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a pincer-shaped movement. In his nightly address on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defence Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for more air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We have strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he said, mentioning the sophisticated American defense systems. Not providing additional information, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine killed no fewer than 6 individuals, among them two minors, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of households, authorities said on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The victims were male minors aged eleven and 14, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes disrupted electricity to the entire east Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Eastern army group said a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on the region.