🔗 Share this article

FormerPresident Donald Trump remarked on Sunday that he was not really considering supplying Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard his plane, he responded, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable such a transfer.

Ukrainian Military Actions Persist Despite Missile Shortage

While Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range strikes against Russia, it has still succeeded to wage a effective campaign using its domestically-produced drones and missiles against Russian armed and strategic objectives, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike targeted the port facility on the coast, causing a fire and harming two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Alternative Crude Sources

Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the recent international restrictions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. Turkey is a major purchaser of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in cutting back supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Crude Procurement

A major Turkish refining plants, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has lately acquired multiple cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and additional alternative suppliers for December arrival, as per insiders. These purchases represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, depending on shipment volume. In contrast, Russian crude made up virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, totaling approximately 210,000 bpd, based on trade data. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Also Increasing Alternative Buys

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also raising purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by two sources. The company was furthermore expected to soon entirely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its two major domestic plants to maintain fuel exports to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Moscow's offensive comprising thousands of soldiers, according to Ukraine's top military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key supply line for the Ukrainian army and has been under Russia's sights for more than a twelve months as Moscow aims to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said last week, while military experts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a pincer-shaped movement. In his nightly address on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in the city and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defences to hold off Russia’s strikes, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not offering further details, the Ukraine's leader singled out Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Kill Civilians, Cut Power

Moscow's drones and missiles targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least six individuals, among them two children, and cut electricity to thousands of residents, officials reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors of ages eleven and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The attacks disrupted electricity to the entire east Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed some of its members were killed in one of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.