Trump Says He Is Not Contemplating Supplying Long-Range Missiles to Kyiv.

Ex-President Donald Trump remarked on Sunday that he was not actively contemplating sending Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a reporter aboard his plane, he responded, “No, not at the moment.” Recent reports had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were ample to allow such a delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Efforts Persist Despite Missile Shortage

While Ukraine has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching attacks against Russian targets, it has nonetheless managed to wage a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian armed and strategic targets, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the port facility on the Black Sea, causing a fire and damaging two vessels, as stated by Russian officials. Nearby Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Refineries Turn to Alternative Crude Sources

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing purchases of alternative crude in response to the latest international restrictions on Russia, according to market insiders. Turkey is a major purchaser of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring India's example in cutting back supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Procurement

One of the largest Turkish refining plants, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently acquired four cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian suppliers for year-end arrival, as per insiders. This amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of alternative supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, oil from Russia made up virtually all of the plant's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210,000 bpd, according to market data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Tupras Likewise Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. Tupras was furthermore expected to in the near future completely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary major domestic refineries to maintain petroleum shipments to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an fierce Russian assault involving a large number of soldiers, as stated by Kyiv’s senior military leader. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a key supply line for the Kyiv's army and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Russia aims to seize the whole east Donetsk area.

Recent Developments in Pokrovsk

At least two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said last week, while military experts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Enhanced Air Defense System

The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defences to hold off Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence network with Berlin's assistance. “We have strengthened the Patriot component of our national air defense,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated American defense systems. Without offering additional information, the Ukraine's leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Electricity

Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory killed at least 6 individuals, among them two minors, and disrupted power to tens of thousands of residents, authorities said on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged eleven and fourteen, stated the nation's ombudsman. The attacks cut electricity to the entire eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand households in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Vostok military unit confirmed some of its personnel were killed in a particular of the Russian strikes on the region.