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Ex-President Donald Trump remarked on Sunday that he was not really planning providing Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist on his plane, he responded, “No, not currently.” Recent accounts had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to enable this transfer.

Ukraine's Military Efforts Continue Despite Missile Shortage

While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless managed to conduct a successful operation using its own drones and rockets against Russian military and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and harming two ships, according to Russian authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Crude Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refineries are boosting purchases of alternative crude in response to the recent international restrictions on Russia, as reported by market sources. The country is a major buyer of Russian crude, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's example in reducing imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has recently acquired four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian producers for December delivery, as per sources. These purchases represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative supply, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for virtually all of the plant's supply in October and September, totaling about 210 thousand bpd, based on trade information. SOCAR declined to comment.

Another Major Refiner Likewise Boosting Alternative Purchases

Another major Turkish oil processor – Tupras – was additionally raising purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, according to two insiders. Tupras was also expected to in the near future entirely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary major Turkish refineries to continue fuel shipments to Europe without violating the European Union's incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has deployed special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Russian assault comprising a large number of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a major logistical route for the Kyiv's army 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

At least 200 Russian troops had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials said recently, while military experts assessed that others were advancing on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his evening address on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Enhanced Air Defence System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's strikes, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air defense network with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he declared, mentioning the sophisticated American air-defence systems. Not providing additional information, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Moscow's Attacks Kill Civilians, Cut Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukraine killed at least six people, including two children, and cut power to tens of thousands of households, officials said on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were male minors of ages 11 and fourteen, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. The strikes disrupted electricity to the entire east Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit confirmed some of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.