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FormerPresident Trump remarked this past Sunday that he was not really contemplating sending Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. In response to a query by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Recent reports had suggested the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow this delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Persist Despite Weapon Shortage

While Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range attacks against Russia, it has still managed to wage a successful operation using its own drones and rockets against Moscow's military and strategic targets, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a blaze and harming two vessels, as stated by Russian authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Crude Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of alternative crude in reaction to the recent international restrictions on Moscow, according to industry insiders. The country is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and India, but processing companies are mirroring New Delhi's lead in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Oil Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other alternative producers for year-end delivery, according to insiders. These purchases represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative crude, depending on cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to about 210 thousand bpd, based on trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras – was additionally raising purchases of alternative types of crude, as stated by multiple insiders. The company was furthermore likely to in the near future entirely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary main domestic refineries to continue petroleum shipments to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming restrictions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Moscow's assault comprising thousands of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical line for the Ukrainian army and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to seize the whole east Donetsk area.

Latest Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than 200 Russian troops had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said recently, while analysts assessed that others were advancing on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly speech on Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the fighting in the city and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his allies for additional air defense systems to hold off Russia’s strikes, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, referring to the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not providing additional information, the Ukrainian leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Kill Civilians, Disrupt Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets targeting Ukrainian territory killed no fewer than six people, among them two children, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of the country's chief prosecutor. The victims were male minors aged 11 and 14, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes disrupted electricity to the whole east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit confirmed some of its personnel were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on the region.