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FormerPresident Donald Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not seriously planning supplying Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter on his plane, he responded, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Persist Despite Missile Shortage

Although Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to execute far-reaching attacks against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced drones and rockets against Moscow's armed and strategic targets, including oil depots and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and harming two ships, according to Moscow officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Crude Supplies

Ankara's biggest oil refineries are increasing procurement of non-Russian crude in reaction to the latest western restrictions on Moscow, as reported by industry insiders. Turkey is a major purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's example in cutting back supplies.

STAR Plant Expands Oil Procurement

A major Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other non-Russian suppliers for December delivery, as per insiders. This represent approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of alternative supply, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, amounting to approximately 210,000 barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other leading Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, according to multiple sources. The company was also expected to soon completely phase out Russian crude at a key facility of its two major domestic plants to continue petroleum shipments to Europe without breaching the European Union's upcoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukraine Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Moscow's assault involving a large number of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s senior military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been under Russia's crosshairs for over a year as Russia pushes to seize the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Developments in Pokrovsk

At least two hundred Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv reported recently, while analysts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in the city and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defence System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defense systems to counter Russia’s strikes, announced on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence network with Germany’s assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defense,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not offering additional details, the Ukraine's leader specifically thanked Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least 6 people, including two children, and cut electricity to thousands of households, officials said on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were two boys of ages eleven and 14, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. The strikes disrupted power to the whole east Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. The Eastern military unit said some of its members were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.