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FormerPresident Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not seriously considering providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a reporter aboard his plane, he responded, “No, not at the moment.” Recent reports had indicated the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to enable such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Continue Without Weapon Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russia, it has still managed to conduct a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's military and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and harming two vessels, according to Moscow officials. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkish Refineries Turn to Non-Russian Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the latest international restrictions on Russia, according to industry sources. The country is a major buyer of Russian crude, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring India's example in reducing imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Oil Sources

One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative producers for December arrival, as per sources. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, depending on cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude accounted for virtually all of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, amounting to about 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another major Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to two sources. The company was also likely to in the near future entirely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary major domestic plants to continue petroleum exports to Europe without violating the EU’s upcoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Russian offensive involving thousands of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply line for the Ukrainian military and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the whole eastern Donetsk area.

Latest Developments in the City

No fewer than two hundred Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Enhanced Air Defence System

The president, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to counter Russia’s attacks, announced on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Not offering further information, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Claim Civilians, Disrupt Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of no fewer than six individuals, among them two minors, and disrupted power to thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of the country's chief prosecutor. The victims were male minors of ages 11 and 14, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s attacks disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on the region.