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Ex-President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he is not really planning supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had indicated the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to allow such a delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Continue Without Weapon Shortage

Although Ukraine has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range strikes against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's military and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Nearby Russian airports in the region also had to be closed.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Crude Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refineries are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the recent international sanctions on Russia, according to market sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and India, but processing companies are mirroring India's example in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Oil Sources

A major Turkish refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional non-Russian suppliers for December delivery, according to insiders. This amount to approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for nearly the entirety of the plant's crude intake in October and September, amounting to approximately 210 thousand bpd, based on trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Alternative Buys

The other major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was also raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, according to multiple sources. The company was also expected to in the near future entirely eliminate Russian crude at one of its two major Turkish plants to maintain petroleum shipments to Europe without violating the European Union's incoming restrictions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Russian offensive involving thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s top military leader. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian army and has been under Russia's sights for more than a twelve months as Russia aims to seize the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in the City

At least two hundred Moscow's troops had penetrated the city's defences, Kyiv reported recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defence System

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his partners for more air defences to hold off Russia’s strikes, stated on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Germany’s support. “We've boosted the Patriot component of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, referring to the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not offering further information, the Ukrainian leader specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Claim Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukrainian territory killed at least six individuals, including two children, and disrupted power to tens of thousands of residents, authorities reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys of ages eleven and 14, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the entire eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.