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Ex-President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he is not really planning providing Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to allow such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Continue Despite Missile Shortage

While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range attacks against Russia, it has still managed to conduct a effective campaign using its own drones and missiles against Russian armed and strategic targets, including oil depots and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and harming two ships, as stated by Moscow officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Crude Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of alternative crude in response to the latest western sanctions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. Turkey is a major buyer of oil from Russia, together with China and India, but processing companies are following New Delhi's lead in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Plant Expands Crude Sources

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional alternative producers for December delivery, as per insiders. This represent approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative crude, depending on shipment volume. In contrast, Russian crude accounted for nearly all of the plant's supply in October and September, amounting to approximately 210,000 barrels per day, based on market information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Buys

The other major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was also raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, as stated by two insiders. Tupras was furthermore likely to soon completely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its two main Turkish plants to continue fuel exports to Europe without violating the European Union's incoming sanctions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Moscow's assault comprising a large number of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s senior military leader. The city, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to seize the entire east Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

At least 200 Russian soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while military experts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Announces Enhanced Air Defence Network

The president, who has been urging his allies for more air defense systems to counter Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We've strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Not offering additional details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Claim Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than six individuals, including 2 children, and disrupted power to thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged 11 and 14, said the nation's human rights commissioner. The strikes disrupted electricity to the entire east Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit confirmed some of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.