🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he was not really considering supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard his plane, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Earlier reports had suggested the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to enable such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Continue Without Missile Shortage

While Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has still succeeded to wage a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's military and strategic objectives, such as oil depots and refineries. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, as stated by Russian authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Crude Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing purchases of alternative crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Moscow, according to industry sources. The country is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with Beijing and India, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's example in reducing supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Oil Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and additional non-Russian suppliers for December delivery, as per insiders. These purchases amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. By comparison, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the plant's supply in October and September, totaling about 210,000 bpd, according to trade information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also raising acquisitions of non-Russian grades of crude, according to two insiders. Tupras was also likely to soon entirely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary major Turkish refineries to continue petroleum exports to the EU without violating the EU’s upcoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian offensive involving a large number of troops, as stated by Ukraine's top commander. Pokrovsk, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply route for the Kyiv's army and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a year as Russia pushes to seize the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

No fewer than 200 Moscow's soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv reported last week, while analysts assessed that others were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Announces Strengthened Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for additional air defences to hold off Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's assistance. “We have strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he said, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Without offering additional details, the Ukraine's president singled out Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Power

Moscow's drones and missiles targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least six individuals, among them 2 minors, and disrupted electricity to thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were two boys aged 11 and 14, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s attacks disrupted power to the whole east Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group said a number of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on the region.