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FormerPresident Trump stated this past Sunday that he is not actively contemplating supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard his plane, he replied, “No, not currently.” Earlier accounts had suggested the Pentagon informed the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable such a transfer.

Ukrainian Military Actions Continue Despite Weapon Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to wage a successful campaign using its domestically-produced drones and missiles against Russian military and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack struck the Tuapse oil port on the coast, causing a blaze and harming two vessels, according to Russian officials. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting procurement of alternative crude in response to the latest international restrictions on Russia, according to industry sources. Turkey is a major purchaser of Russian crude, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following India's example in cutting back imports.

STAR Plant Expands Crude Procurement

A major Turkey's refining plants, the STAR refinery, operated by Azeri company SOCAR, has recently purchased four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative producers for year-end arrival, according to insiders. This represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative crude, varying by cargo size. In contrast, oil from Russia made up nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210,000 bpd, based on market data. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another leading Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was also expected to in the near future entirely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary major Turkish plants to continue fuel exports to Europe without breaching the EU’s upcoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed elite troops to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Russian offensive comprising thousands of soldiers, according to Ukraine's senior military leader. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Kyiv's military and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for over a year as Moscow aims to seize the entire eastern Donetsk area.

Latest Updates in the City

No fewer than 200 Moscow's troops had breached the city's defensive lines, Kyiv reported recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening address on Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defence Network

The president, who has been pushing his partners for more air defences to counter Moscow's attacks, stated on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence network with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the advanced American defense systems. Without offering further details, the Ukraine's leader singled out Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of no fewer than 6 people, including 2 minors, and cut electricity to thousands of households, officials said on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the representatives of the country's chief prosecutor. The children were male minors aged eleven and 14, said the nation's ombudsman. The attacks disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. The Eastern army group said some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on the region.