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Ex-President Donald Trump remarked on Sunday that he is not actively contemplating sending Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had suggested the Pentagon told the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to allow such a delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Continue Despite Missile Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian armed and strategic targets, including oil depots and refineries. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow officials. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Alternative Oil Supplies

Ankara's biggest oil refineries are increasing purchases of non-Russian crude in reaction to the recent western restrictions on Moscow, according to market insiders. The country is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, along with China and India, but processing companies are following India's lead in reducing supplies.

STAR Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has recently purchased four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian producers for December arrival, according to insiders. This represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, depending on cargo size. By comparison, Russian crude made up virtually all of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, according to multiple insiders. Tupras was also likely to soon completely eliminate Russian crude at one of its two main domestic refineries to continue petroleum shipments to the EU without breaching the European Union's incoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a request for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian offensive involving a large number of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a major supply route for the Ukrainian army and has been under Russia's sights for over a year as Moscow aims to control the whole east Donetsk area.

Recent Developments in the City

No fewer than two hundred Russian troops had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his evening address on Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the fighting in the city and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Strengthened Air Defence System

The president, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defences to hold off Moscow's attacks, stated on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he said, mentioning the advanced American defense systems. Not providing further details, the Ukrainian president singled out Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Claim Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine killed at least 6 people, including two minors, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of households, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys of ages eleven and fourteen, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes cut power to the entire east Donetsk area as well as almost 58 thousand households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Eastern army group confirmed some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.