Donald Trump Says He Is Not Considering Supplying Tomahawk Missiles to Ukraine.

FormerPresident Trump stated on Sunday that he is not seriously planning supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. In response to a query by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to enable this transfer.

Ukraine's Military Efforts Continue Despite Missile Lack

While Ukraine has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless managed to wage a effective operation using its own drones and missiles against Moscow's armed and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and harming two ships, as stated by Moscow authorities. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Oil Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of alternative crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Moscow, according to market sources. Turkey is a major buyer of Russian crude, together with China and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in reducing imports.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Diversifies Crude Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative suppliers for year-end arrival, as per sources. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to about 210 thousand bpd, according to market data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Also Boosting Alternative Buys

Another major Turkish refiner – Tupras – was additionally increasing acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by multiple sources. Tupras was furthermore likely to soon completely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its two main Turkish plants to maintain fuel exports to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming restrictions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Russian offensive comprising thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian army and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Russia pushes to seize the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than 200 Moscow's soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said last week, while analysts assessed that others were advancing on its perimeter in a encircling movement. In his evening address on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defence Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, stated on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the Patriot component of our national air defence,” he declared, referring to the advanced American air-defence systems. Without offering additional information, the Ukrainian leader specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Electricity

Russian drones and rockets fired at Ukraine killed at least six people, among them 2 children, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged eleven and fourteen, said the nation's ombudsman. The strikes disrupted electricity to the whole east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Vostok army group said a number of its members were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.