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FormerPresident Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not seriously planning supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he responded, “No, not really.” Recent accounts had claimed the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to allow this delivery.

Ukraine's Military Efforts Continue Without Weapon Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching attacks against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to wage a successful campaign using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian military and key objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike struck the port facility on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two vessels, according to Russian officials. Nearby Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing procurement of alternative crude in reaction to the latest international sanctions on Russia, according to market sources. The country is a major buyer of Russian crude, together with China and India, but refiners are following India's example in reducing supplies.

STAR Plant Expands Crude Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative suppliers for year-end delivery, as per insiders. These purchases represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative supply, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by two insiders. Tupras was also likely to in the near future entirely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its two main Turkish plants to maintain fuel exports to the EU without breaching the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's offensive involving thousands of soldiers, as stated by Ukraine's senior military leader. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply line for the Kyiv's military and has been under Moscow’s sights for over a year as Russia pushes to control the whole east Donetsk area.

Latest Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Russian soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while military experts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Strengthened Air Defence Network

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's attacks, announced on this past Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense network with Berlin's support. “We have boosted the Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defence,” he declared, referring to the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Without providing further information, the Ukraine's president singled out Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Strikes Claim Civilians, Cut Electricity

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of no fewer than six individuals, among them two minors, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of residents, officials said on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged eleven and 14, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. The Vostok military unit said some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.