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FormerPresident Donald Trump remarked on Sunday that he was not seriously contemplating supplying Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Earlier accounts had indicated the Pentagon informed the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow this delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Persist Without Weapon Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to execute far-reaching attacks against Russia, it has still succeeded to wage a effective operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian military and strategic targets, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two ships, as stated by Russian authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Crude Supplies

Ankara's largest oil refineries are increasing procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the latest international sanctions on Russia, according to industry insiders. The country is a major purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but processing companies are following India's example in reducing supplies.

STAR Plant Expands Oil Sources

A major Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative producers for year-end arrival, as per insiders. These purchases amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, depending on shipment volume. In contrast, Russian crude accounted for virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, totaling approximately 210 thousand bpd, according to market information. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Likewise Boosting Alternative Purchases

Another leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras – was additionally raising purchases of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by two insiders. Tupras was also likely to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at one of its primary main Turkish plants to maintain fuel exports to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Elite Units to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian offensive comprising thousands of soldiers, as stated by Ukraine's senior commander. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key supply route for the Kyiv's army and has been under Moscow’s sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to seize the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in the City

At least two hundred Moscow's soldiers had penetrated the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening address on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the combat in the city and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defence Network

The president, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defences to counter Moscow's strikes, stated on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defense,” he declared, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without offering additional details, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Germany and its leader, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Kill Civilians, Cut Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than 6 individuals, including two minors, and disrupted electricity to thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were male minors aged eleven and 14, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s attacks cut power to the entire east Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit said some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.