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Ex-President Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he was not really contemplating sending Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist on Air Force One, he responded, “No, not currently.” Earlier accounts had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Continue Despite Missile Shortage

Although Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russia, it has nonetheless managed to conduct a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's armed and key objectives, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and harming two ships, as stated by Russian officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Crude Sources

Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the recent western sanctions on Russia, as reported by market sources. The country is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and India, but processing companies are following India's example in reducing imports.

STAR Refinery Expands Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has recently purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian suppliers for December delivery, according to insiders. These purchases represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative supply, depending on cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude made up virtually all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, totaling about 210 thousand barrels per day, based on market data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Tupras Also Boosting Alternative Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also increasing acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by two sources. The company was also expected to soon entirely eliminate imports from Russia at one of its two major domestic refineries to continue fuel shipments to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Ukraine has sent special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Russian offensive involving thousands of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply route for the Kyiv's military and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for over a twelve months as Russia pushes to seize the entire eastern Donetsk area.

Latest Developments in the City

No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials said last week, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Announces Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been pushing his allies for more air defense systems to counter Russia’s attacks, announced on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defense,” he said, referring to the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Not offering additional information, the Ukrainian leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Kill Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Moscow's drones and rockets targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least six individuals, among them 2 children, and disrupted power to thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were two boys aged eleven and 14, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. The strikes disrupted electricity to the whole east Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Eastern military unit said some of its members were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.