Trump States He Is Not Contemplating Sending Long-Range Cruise Missiles to Ukraine.

FormerPresident Trump stated on Sunday that he is not really contemplating sending Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not currently.” Earlier accounts had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a transfer.

Ukraine's Military Actions Continue Without Weapon Shortage

While Ukraine has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching strikes against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian military and key targets, including oil depots and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike targeted the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, according to Russian officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be closed.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Alternative Crude Sources

Ankara's largest oil refineries are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in response to the recent western sanctions on Russia, according to industry sources. Turkey is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, together with China and India, but processing companies are following India's lead in reducing imports.

STAR Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional alternative producers for year-end arrival, according to insiders. These purchases represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia made up nearly the entirety of the plant's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on market data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Buys

Another leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. The company was also likely to in the near future completely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary main Turkish plants to continue fuel exports to Europe without breaching the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Moscow's offensive involving a large number of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s senior commander. Pokrovsk, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical route for the Kyiv's military and has been in Russia's crosshairs for over a year as Moscow aims to seize the entire east Donetsk region.

Recent Developments in Pokrovsk

At least 200 Russian troops had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while analysts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, stated on Sunday that the country had reinforced its air defense capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We've strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defence,” Zelenskyy declared, referring to the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without offering further details, the Ukrainian president singled out Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and rockets targeting Ukraine killed at least 6 individuals, among them 2 children, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the office of the country's chief prosecutor. The children were two boys aged eleven and 14, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The attacks disrupted power to the entire eastern Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy attacks on the region.