🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not seriously planning sending Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a journalist on his plane, he responded, “No, not really.” Recent reports had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Continue Despite Weapon Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless managed to conduct a effective operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's military and strategic objectives, including oil depots and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and harming two ships, as stated by Moscow officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Alternative Crude Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are increasing purchases of alternative crude in reaction to the recent international restrictions on Moscow, according to market insiders. Turkey is a major buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and India, but processing companies are following India's lead in cutting back supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Oil Sources

A major Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently acquired multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative suppliers for December delivery, as per sources. These purchases represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, depending on cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia made up virtually the entirety of the plant's crude intake in recent months, amounting to about 210 thousand barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

The other major Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing purchases of alternative grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was also expected to in the near future completely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary main domestic refineries to continue petroleum exports to Europe without violating the EU’s upcoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent special forces to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an fierce Moscow's offensive involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key supply route for the Kyiv's army and has been in Russia's crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow pushes to seize the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts assessed that others were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his nightly address on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in the city and “results in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his partners for more air defense systems to counter Moscow's attacks, announced on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air defense network with Berlin's assistance. “We have strengthened the Patriot element of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without providing additional details, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Power

Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory killed at least six individuals, among them 2 minors, and disrupted electricity to thousands of households, officials reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of the country's chief prosecutor. The children were male minors aged 11 and fourteen, stated the nation's ombudsman. Russia’s strikes cut electricity to the entire east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Eastern army group confirmed some of its members were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.