Donald Trump Affirms He Is Not Planning Providing Tomahawk Missiles to Kyiv.

Ex-President Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he was not really considering sending Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard his plane, he answered, “No, not currently.” Earlier reports had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Persist Despite Weapon Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian military and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and harming two ships, according to Russian authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkish Refineries Shift to Alternative Crude Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of alternative crude in response to the latest western sanctions on Russia, according to industry insiders. Turkey is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, together with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's example in reducing supplies.

STAR Plant Expands Oil Procurement

A major Turkish refining plants, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently acquired multiple shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other alternative suppliers for December arrival, according to sources. This amount to approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, oil from Russia accounted for virtually the entirety of the plant's supply in recent months, totaling about 210,000 bpd, according to trade information. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Buys

The other major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing purchases of alternative grades of crude, as stated by two sources. The company was furthermore likely to in the near future completely eliminate imports from Russia at one of its primary main domestic plants to maintain fuel exports to the EU without breaching the EU’s incoming restrictions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Moscow's offensive comprising thousands of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s senior military leader. Pokrovsk, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a major logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been under Russia's sights for over a year as Russia aims to seize the entire east Donetsk region.

Latest Updates in Pokrovsk

At least 200 Russian troops had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials said recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in the city and “results in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defences to hold off Moscow's attacks, stated on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air defense network with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the Patriot component of our national air defence,” he said, mentioning the advanced American defense systems. Without offering further details, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Germany and its leader, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Claim Innocents, Cut Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory killed at least 6 people, including two children, and cut electricity to thousands of households, officials reported on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of the country's prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged eleven and 14, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The attacks disrupted power to the whole east Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit said some of its members were killed in one of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.