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FormerPresident Trump remarked on Sunday that he is not actively contemplating providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had claimed the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow this delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Persist Without Weapon Lack

Although Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching strikes against Russia, it has still managed to conduct a effective operation using its own drones and missiles against Russian armed and key objectives, such as fuel storage facilities and refineries. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of alternative crude in response to the recent western sanctions on Moscow, as reported by market insiders. The country is a major buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and India, but processing companies are mirroring New Delhi's lead in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Crude Procurement

A major Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian producers for year-end arrival, as per sources. These purchases amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude accounted for nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, amounting to about 210 thousand bpd, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases

The other major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising purchases of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by multiple sources. The company was furthermore expected to soon entirely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary main Turkish plants to maintain fuel exports to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming restrictions. Tupras did not respond to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has deployed elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's offensive comprising a large number of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s senior military leader. Pokrovsk, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow aims to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had penetrated the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while analysts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defence Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, stated on Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defense,” he declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Not providing additional information, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles fired at Ukraine killed at least six individuals, among them 2 minors, and cut power to tens of thousands of residents, authorities reported on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The victims were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.