🔗 Share this article

FormerPresident Trump remarked on Sunday that he is not seriously considering providing Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a reporter on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Recent accounts had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow this delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Continue Despite Missile Shortage

Although Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has nonetheless managed to wage a effective operation using its domestically-produced drones and missiles against Russian military and strategic targets, including oil depots and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack targeted the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a blaze and harming two vessels, according to Moscow authorities. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Refineries Shift to Alternative Oil Supplies

Ankara's largest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the recent western sanctions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. Turkey is a major buyer of Russian crude, together with China and India, but refiners are following New Delhi's lead in cutting back supplies.

STAR Refinery Expands Crude Sources

A major Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative suppliers for December delivery, according to insiders. This represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, totaling about 210,000 barrels per day, based on market data. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases

The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras – was also raising acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, according to two insiders. Tupras was furthermore expected to soon entirely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary main domestic plants to continue petroleum exports to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's offensive involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. Pokrovsk, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a major supply line for the Ukrainian military and has been under Moscow’s sights for more than a year as Moscow pushes to control the whole eastern Donetsk area.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv said last week, while military experts assessed that others were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly address on Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Strengthened Air Defense System

The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defences to counter Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence network with Germany’s assistance. “We have boosted the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Not providing further information, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Claim Civilians, Cut Electricity

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets targeting Ukraine killed at least 6 people, among them 2 children, and cut electricity to thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, said the nation's ombudsman. The strikes cut electricity to the whole east Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.