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FormerPresident Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not really considering sending Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a reporter on his plane, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Recent reports had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to allow this delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Continue Without Missile Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its own drones and missiles against Russian armed and key objectives, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a fire and harming two vessels, according to Russian authorities. Nearby airfields in the region also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of alternative crude in response to the recent western restrictions on Moscow, as reported by industry insiders. Turkey is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring India's lead in reducing imports.

STAR Plant Diversifies Oil Sources

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian suppliers for year-end arrival, according to insiders. These purchases represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian supply, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, totaling about 210,000 barrels per day, based on market data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by two sources. Tupras was furthermore likely to soon completely eliminate Russian crude at one of its two major Turkish plants to maintain petroleum exports to the EU without violating the European Union's incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's assault comprising thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s senior military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for over a year as Russia pushes to control the whole east Donetsk area.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Russian soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the combat in the city and “successes in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defense systems to counter Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, referring to the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without offering additional information, the Ukrainian leader specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Moscow's Strikes Claim Innocents, Cut Electricity

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukraine killed at least 6 people, among them two children, and cut electricity to thousands of households, authorities reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys of ages 11 and 14, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. The strikes disrupted electricity to the whole east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Eastern army group said some of its members were killed in one of the Russian attacks on the region.