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FormerPresident Donald Trump stated this past Sunday that he was not really considering supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to enable this delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Continue Despite Weapon Shortage

Although Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching attacks against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian armed and strategic objectives, such as oil depots and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike targeted the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two ships, according to Moscow authorities. Nearby Russian airports in the region also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Crude Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the latest international restrictions on Russia, as reported by market sources. The country is a major purchaser of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and India, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Oil Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other non-Russian producers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, amounting to about 210,000 barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

Another leading Turkish refiner – Tupras – was also raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, according to two sources. Tupras was also likely to soon entirely phase out imports from Russia at one of its two major domestic plants to continue fuel shipments to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Ukraine has deployed special forces to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Russian assault comprising a large number of troops, as stated by Ukraine's senior military leader. Pokrovsk, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a major logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Russian soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Kyiv reported last week, while military experts assessed that others were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Strengthened Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Russia’s strikes, stated on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's assistance. “We have boosted the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, mentioning the sophisticated American air-defence systems. Without providing further details, the Ukraine's leader specifically thanked Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Power

Russian drones and rockets targeting Ukraine took the lives of no fewer than six people, among them two minors, and disrupted power to thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The children were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. The strikes disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit said a number of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.