Donald Trump Says He Isn't Contemplating Sending Tomahawk Missiles to Kyiv.

FormerPresident Donald Trump stated this past Sunday that he was not really contemplating supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist on Air Force One, he responded, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to allow this delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Without Weapon Shortage

While Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching attacks against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to wage a effective operation using its domestically-produced drones and rockets against Russian armed and key objectives, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike hit the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and harming two ships, according to Russian authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing purchases of non-Russian crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Russia, according to market sources. The country is a major buyer of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and India, but refiners are following New Delhi's lead in reducing supplies.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Oil Procurement

A major Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has lately purchased four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other alternative suppliers for December arrival, according to insiders. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, depending on cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for nearly all of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, totaling about 210,000 bpd, according to market information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Non-Russian Purchases

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. Tupras was furthermore expected to soon entirely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major domestic refineries to maintain petroleum shipments to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Ukraine has sent elite troops to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Moscow's assault comprising a large number of soldiers, as stated by Ukraine's top commander. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Kyiv's military and has been under Moscow’s sights for over a twelve months as Russia pushes to control the entire east Donetsk area.

Recent Developments in the City

At least two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in the city and “successes in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Announces Enhanced Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his partners for additional air defences to counter Russia’s strikes, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the sophisticated American defense systems. Not offering further information, the Ukrainian president singled out Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Strikes Claim Civilians, Disrupt Power

Russian drones and missiles targeting Ukraine killed at least six individuals, including 2 children, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of households, officials reported on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The victims were two boys aged 11 and fourteen, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s strikes cut power to the entire eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders said. Ukraine’s Vostok army group confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.