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Ex-President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he is not really considering providing Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a reporter on his plane, he responded, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had claimed the Pentagon informed the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Persist Despite Missile Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has still managed to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian armed and key objectives, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the port facility on the coast, igniting a blaze and damaging two ships, according to Moscow officials. Nearby Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Non-Russian Crude Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of alternative crude in reaction to the latest western sanctions on Russia, according to industry sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's lead in reducing imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Oil Sources

A major Turkey's refining plants, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and additional non-Russian suppliers for December arrival, as per sources. This amount to approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia made up nearly the entirety of the plant's supply in recent months, totaling about 210,000 bpd, based on market data. SOCAR refused to comment.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was additionally increasing purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. Tupras was also likely to soon entirely phase out imports from Russia at one of its two main domestic refineries to maintain petroleum shipments to Europe without breaching the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Russian assault involving thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s top commander. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key supply line for the Kyiv's military and has been in Moscow’s sights for more than a twelve months as Moscow pushes to seize the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Updates in the City

At least 200 Moscow's soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while military experts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Announces Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been urging his partners for additional air defense systems to hold off Moscow's strikes, stated on this past Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Without offering additional information, the Ukraine's president singled out Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Kill Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukraine killed no fewer than 6 people, among them 2 children, and disrupted power to thousands of residents, officials reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The children were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s attacks cut electricity to the whole east Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Eastern military unit said some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.