🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not seriously considering sending Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Recent reports had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to enable such a transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Despite Missile Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has still managed to wage a effective campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's armed and key objectives, including oil depots and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike targeted the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and harming two ships, according to Russian authorities. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Refineries Shift to Alternative Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the recent international sanctions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. The country is a significant buyer of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring India's lead in cutting back imports.

STAR Refinery Expands Oil Procurement

A major Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently acquired multiple cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian producers for year-end arrival, as per insiders. These purchases amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia made up virtually all of the plant's crude intake in recent months, totaling about 210,000 bpd, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Alternative Purchases

The other leading Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was also increasing purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple sources. The company was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major domestic plants to maintain fuel exports to the EU without breaching the European Union's upcoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's assault comprising thousands of soldiers, according to Ukraine's top commander. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a major supply route for the Kyiv's military and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in the City

No fewer than two hundred Moscow's troops had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv said recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Moscow's attacks, announced on this past Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air-defence network with Germany’s support. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defence,” Zelenskyy declared, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not providing additional details, the Ukraine's leader specifically thanked Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Strikes Kill Civilians, Cut Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of at least 6 individuals, among them 2 children, and cut power to tens of thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged eleven and 14, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. The Eastern military unit said a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy attacks on the region.