🔗 Share this article

FormerPresident Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he was not really considering sending Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard his plane, he answered, “No, not really.” Recent accounts had indicated the Pentagon told the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow this transfer.

Ukrainian Military Actions Persist Without Weapon Lack

Although Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless managed to wage a successful operation using its own drones and missiles against Russian armed and strategic targets, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, causing a blaze and harming two ships, according to Russian authorities. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Alternative Oil Supplies

Ankara's largest oil refining facilities are increasing purchases of alternative crude in response to the latest international sanctions on Moscow, according to industry insiders. Turkey is a major buyer of Russian crude, together with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's lead in cutting back supplies.

STAR Refinery Expands Oil Sources

A major Turkey's refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and additional non-Russian producers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative supply, varying by shipment volume. In contrast, oil from Russia accounted for virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210,000 barrels per day, based on trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Increasing Alternative Buys

Another leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras – was also raising purchases of alternative types of crude, according to two sources. Tupras was also likely to in the near future completely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major domestic refineries to continue petroleum exports to the EU without violating the European Union's upcoming restrictions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Deploys Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has sent special forces to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an fierce Moscow's offensive involving thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key supply route for the Kyiv's military and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Developments in the City

At least 200 Russian soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defence Network

The president, who has been urging his partners for additional air defences to hold off Moscow's strikes, announced on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Germany’s assistance. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he declared, mentioning the advanced American defense systems. Without offering additional details, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Russian Strikes Claim Innocents, Disrupt Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets targeting Ukraine killed no fewer than 6 people, including two children, and cut power to tens of thousands of residents, authorities reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were two boys of ages eleven and fourteen, said the nation's ombudsman. Russia’s attacks cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group said some of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy attacks on the region.