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Ex-President Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not seriously considering providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter on his plane, he replied, “No, not really.” Recent reports had claimed the Pentagon informed the White House that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to allow this transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Persist Despite Weapon Lack

Although Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching attacks against Russia, it has still managed to wage a effective operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian armed and key targets, including oil depots and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack targeted the port facility on the coast, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. The country is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and India, but processing companies are following New Delhi's lead in reducing supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Oil Procurement

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has lately acquired multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian suppliers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This represent approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian supply, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210,000 barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was furthermore expected to soon entirely eliminate imports from Russia at one of its primary major Turkish plants to continue fuel shipments to the EU without breaching the European Union's incoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Moscow's offensive comprising a large number of troops, according to Ukraine's top commander. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a major supply line for the Kyiv's army and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for over a year as Russia pushes to control the whole east Donetsk area.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

At least two hundred Russian soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts assessed that others were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the combat in the city and “results in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defense systems to counter Russia’s attacks, stated on this past Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We've strengthened the Patriot element of our national air defense,” he said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Not offering additional details, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Kill Civilians, Cut Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukrainian territory killed at least six individuals, including 2 children, and disrupted electricity to thousands of households, officials reported on Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The victims were two boys aged 11 and fourteen, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. The attacks disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Eastern military unit confirmed some of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.