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FormerPresident Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not actively planning providing Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a reporter on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had suggested the Pentagon informed the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to allow such a delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Continue Despite Weapon Shortage

Although Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless managed to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's armed and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and damaging two ships, as stated by Moscow officials. Nearby airfields in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkish Refineries Shift to Alternative Oil Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of alternative crude in response to the latest international restrictions on Russia, as reported by market sources. Turkey is a major buyer of Russian crude, together with China and New Delhi, but processing companies are following New Delhi's example in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Oil Sources

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian producers for year-end delivery, as per insiders. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, varying by shipment volume. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, amounting to approximately 210 thousand bpd, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Another Major Refiner Likewise Boosting Non-Russian Buys

Another leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was also likely to in the near future entirely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major domestic refineries to continue fuel exports to Europe without breaching the EU’s incoming restrictions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian assault involving thousands of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a major supply line for the Ukrainian army and has been in Moscow’s sights for more than a twelve months as Moscow pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

At least two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached the city's defences, Ukrainian officials said recently, while analysts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling movement. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in the city and “results in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Strengthened Air Defense System

The president, who has been urging his partners for additional air defences to hold off Russia’s strikes, announced on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s support. “We've boosted the Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defence,” Zelenskyy declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without providing additional details, the Ukrainian president singled out Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Claim Civilians, Cut Electricity

Moscow's drones and rockets targeting Ukrainian territory took the lives of at least 6 individuals, among them two children, and cut power to thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of the country's prosecutor general. The victims were male minors aged 11 and 14, stated the nation's ombudsman. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit said a number of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on the region.