🔗 Share this article

FormerPresident Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not really contemplating sending Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter on Air Force One, he responded, “No, not currently.” Recent accounts had suggested the Pentagon informed the administration that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a transfer.

Ukraine's Military Efforts Persist Despite Missile Shortage

While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to wage a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian military and key targets, such as fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and damaging two vessels, according to Moscow authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Non-Russian Oil Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in reaction to the latest international sanctions on Russia, as reported by industry sources. The country is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, together with China and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring New Delhi's example in cutting back imports.

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Diversifies Oil Procurement

One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, owned by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional alternative suppliers for December arrival, as per insiders. These purchases amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, varying by cargo size. In contrast, oil from Russia accounted for nearly all of the plant's supply in recent months, totaling approximately 210 thousand bpd, based on trade information. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Likewise Boosting Alternative Purchases

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was additionally raising acquisitions of alternative grades of crude, according to two sources. Tupras was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary main domestic plants to continue fuel shipments to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for a statement.

Ukrainian Sends Elite Units to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an fierce Moscow's offensive involving a large number of soldiers, according to Ukraine's senior military leader. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a major logistical line for the Kyiv's military and has been in Moscow’s sights for more than a year as Moscow pushes to seize the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in Pokrovsk

No fewer than two hundred Russian soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while analysts assessed that others were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in the city and “results in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defence System

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his partners for additional air defense systems to counter Moscow's attacks, announced on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defence,” he said, referring to the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Without offering further information, the Ukrainian president singled out Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Innocents, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and missiles targeting Ukraine took the lives of no fewer than six people, including two children, and disrupted electricity to thousands of households, officials said on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The victims were male minors of ages eleven and 14, said the nation's ombudsman. The strikes cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as nearly 58 thousand households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.