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Ex-President Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he was not actively planning sending Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. In response to a query by a reporter aboard his plane, he answered, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had suggested the Pentagon informed the administration that American inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow this delivery.

Ukrainian Military Efforts Continue Without Missile Shortage

Although Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced drones and missiles against Russian armed and key targets, such as oil depots and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and harming two ships, according to Russian officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be closed.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Ankara's biggest oil refineries are increasing procurement of alternative crude in response to the recent western sanctions on Russia, according to industry sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are following India's example in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has lately acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian suppliers for year-end arrival, as per insiders. These purchases amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative crude, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, totaling approximately 210,000 bpd, according to trade information. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases

The other major Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also raising purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was also expected to in the near future entirely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary major Turkish plants to continue petroleum shipments to Europe without breaching the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed elite troops to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Moscow's offensive comprising thousands of troops, as stated by Ukraine's senior commander. Pokrovsk, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply line for the Ukrainian army and has been in Moscow’s sights for more than a twelve months as Moscow aims to seize the whole eastern Donetsk area.

Recent Updates in the City

No fewer than two hundred Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv said recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in the city and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defense System

The president, who has been pushing his allies for more air defense systems to hold off Moscow's strikes, stated on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the advanced American defense systems. Without offering additional details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Claim Innocents, Cut Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least 6 people, among them two children, and disrupted power to thousands of residents, authorities said on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were male minors of ages 11 and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the whole east Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed some of its members were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.