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FormerPresident Donald Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not really planning supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist on Air Force One, he replied, “No, not really.” Recent reports had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a transfer.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Persist Despite Weapon Shortage

While Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range strikes against Russia, it has still managed to conduct a successful operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian military and key objectives, including oil depots and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and harming two ships, according to Moscow officials. Nearby Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the latest western sanctions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. The country is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, together with China and India, but processing companies are mirroring New Delhi's lead in reducing supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Procurement

One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional alternative producers for December arrival, as per insiders. These purchases amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative supply, varying by shipment volume. In contrast, oil from Russia accounted for virtually the entirety of the plant's supply in October and September, totaling about 210,000 bpd, based on market data. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras – was additionally increasing purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple sources. The company was furthermore likely to soon entirely phase out imports from Russia at one of its primary main Turkish refineries to continue petroleum shipments to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Moscow's assault involving a large number of soldiers, according to Ukraine's senior commander. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a major supply line for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Updates in the City

No fewer than 200 Russian soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while analysts assessed that others were closing in on its perimeter in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defences to hold off Moscow's attacks, announced on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air defense capabilities with Berlin's support. “We have strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, referring to the sophisticated American defense systems. Not providing further details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Power

Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than six people, among them 2 minors, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of households, officials reported on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the representatives of the country's chief prosecutor. The children were male minors of ages 11 and 14, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes disrupted power to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit said a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy strikes on the region.