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Ex-President Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he was not actively considering sending Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not really.” Recent accounts had claimed the Pentagon told the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Persist Despite Missile Lack

While Ukraine has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching attacks against Russia, it has still managed to conduct a effective campaign using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian armed and key targets, including oil depots and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and harming two vessels, as stated by Russian officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkish Refineries Turn to Alternative Crude Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the recent western sanctions on Russia, as reported by industry insiders. The country is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Crude Procurement

A major Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other alternative suppliers for year-end arrival, as per sources. These purchases amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia made up nearly all of the plant's supply in recent months, totaling about 210,000 bpd, based on market information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Buys

Another leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. The company was also likely to soon completely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major Turkish plants to maintain petroleum exports to Europe without breaching the European Union's incoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an intense Moscow's assault involving thousands of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Kyiv's army and has been under Moscow’s sights for over a year as Moscow aims to control the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

At least two hundred Russian soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv reported recently, while military experts assessed that others were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defense systems to hold off Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s support. “We've strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defence,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the advanced American defense systems. Not offering additional details, the Ukraine's president singled out Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Civilians, Disrupt Power

Moscow's drones and missiles targeting Ukraine killed no fewer than 6 individuals, among them two minors, and disrupted power to tens of thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The children were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The strikes disrupted electricity to the whole east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed some of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy attacks on the region.