🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he was not actively contemplating supplying Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had suggested the Pentagon told the administration that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to allow such a transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Continue Without Weapon Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching strikes against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to conduct a effective campaign using its own drones and rockets against Moscow's armed and strategic targets, such as oil depots and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the port facility on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two ships, according to Moscow authorities. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be closed.

Turkish Refineries Shift to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Ankara's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in reaction to the recent western restrictions on Russia, as reported by market sources. Turkey is a major purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and India, but refiners are mirroring India's example in reducing imports.

STAR Refinery Expands Crude Procurement

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian suppliers for year-end delivery, according to insiders. These purchases amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative supply, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude made up virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, totaling about 210,000 barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras – was additionally increasing acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was also expected to in the near future entirely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary main domestic refineries to continue petroleum shipments to the EU without breaching the European Union's upcoming restrictions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukrainian Sends Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has deployed elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Moscow's offensive comprising a large number of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior military leader. The city, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply route for the Ukrainian military and has been under Moscow’s sights for more than a twelve months as Moscow pushes to seize the entire east Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in the City

No fewer than two hundred Russian soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv reported recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his evening address on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the fighting in the city and “results in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been urging his partners for additional air defences to counter Russia’s attacks, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We've boosted the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Without offering further details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and rockets fired at Ukraine killed at least six individuals, including 2 minors, and cut power to tens of thousands of households, officials said on this past Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of the country's chief prosecutor. The victims were male minors aged eleven and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. The strikes cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. The Eastern army group said a number of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.