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Ex-President Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not seriously planning providing Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a journalist on Air Force One, he responded, “No, not currently.” Recent reports had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable such a transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Without Weapon Shortage

While Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range attacks against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's armed and strategic targets, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a fire and damaging two ships, according to Moscow authorities. Nearby Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in reaction to the recent western restrictions on Russia, as reported by market insiders. Turkey is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring India's lead in cutting back supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, the STAR refinery, owned by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately acquired multiple shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian suppliers for year-end arrival, according to sources. These purchases represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative supply, varying by shipment volume. In contrast, oil from Russia accounted for virtually all of the plant's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210,000 bpd, according to market information. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Also Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

The other major Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by two sources. The company was furthermore likely to soon completely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major domestic refineries to continue petroleum exports to Europe without violating the EU’s upcoming restrictions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Ukraine has deployed elite troops to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an intense Moscow's assault comprising thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a major logistical line for the Kyiv's army and has been under Russia's crosshairs for more than a year as Russia aims to seize the entire east Donetsk area.

Recent Developments in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while military experts assessed that others were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling movement. In his evening address on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

The president, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defense systems to hold off Moscow's strikes, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defense,” he said, mentioning the advanced American air-defence systems. Without providing additional details, the Ukraine's leader specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Moscow's drones and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory took the lives of at least 6 people, among them 2 minors, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of households, officials said on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The children were male minors aged 11 and fourteen, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The attacks disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. Ukraine’s Vostok army group said a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.