🔗 Share this article

FormerPresident Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he was not actively planning providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a reporter on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Recent accounts had claimed the Pentagon informed the administration that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Persist Despite Weapon Lack

While Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its own drones 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 targeted the port facility on the Black Sea, causing a fire and harming two ships, according to Russian officials. Nearby Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Crude Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the recent western restrictions on Russia, according to industry insiders. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and India, but processing companies are following New Delhi's example in reducing imports.

STAR Refinery Expands Oil Procurement

A major Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately purchased four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian suppliers for December arrival, as per sources. This represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the plant's supply in recent months, amounting to approximately 210 thousand bpd, according to trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Buys

The other leading Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was also raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was also expected to in the near future entirely eliminate imports from Russia at one of its primary main domestic refineries to continue fuel exports to the EU without violating the EU’s upcoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for comment.

Ukraine Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Russian assault involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s top commander. Pokrovsk, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for over a year as Russia pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

At least 200 Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his evening address on Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the fighting in the city and “results in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Strengthened Air Defence Network

The president, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's attacks, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air defense capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We've strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense,” he said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without offering further information, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of at least six people, including two minors, and cut power to thousands of households, authorities reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged 11 and 14, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The attacks disrupted electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Vostok army group confirmed some of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian attacks on the region.