🔗 Share this article

FormerPresident Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not actively contemplating supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Recent accounts had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to enable such a delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Persist Despite Missile Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russia, it has still succeeded to wage a effective campaign using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian military and key objectives, such as oil depots and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a blaze and damaging two ships, according to Russian officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Refineries Turn to Alternative Oil Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the recent western sanctions on Russia, as reported by industry sources. Turkey is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's example in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Crude Procurement

A major Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately purchased multiple shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian producers for year-end arrival, according to sources. These purchases amount to approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by shipment volume. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, amounting to about 210,000 barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Non-Russian Buys

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was also increasing acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to two sources. Tupras was also likely to soon completely phase out Russian crude at one of its two major domestic plants to continue petroleum exports to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming restrictions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukraine Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed elite troops to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian offensive involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Kyiv's army and has been under Russia's crosshairs for over a year as Moscow pushes to control the entire east Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

At least 200 Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the combat in the city and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Enhanced Air Defense System

The president, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defences to counter Russia’s attacks, stated on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air defense network with Berlin's assistance. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defense,” he said, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not providing further details, the Ukraine's leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Innocents, Cut Power

Russian drones and rockets targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least six individuals, including 2 minors, and cut power to tens of thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The children were male minors of ages eleven and fourteen, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes cut power to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.