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Ex-President Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not seriously considering supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard his plane, he answered, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had claimed the Pentagon informed the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to enable such a transfer.

Ukrainian Military Actions Persist Without Weapon Lack

While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's military and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. On Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike targeted the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a fire and damaging two vessels, according to Russian authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be closed.

Turkey Refineries Shift to Alternative Crude Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in reaction to the latest western sanctions on Russia, according to market insiders. Turkey is a major purchaser of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring New Delhi's lead in cutting back supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Procurement

A major Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azeri company SOCAR, has lately purchased four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative producers for year-end delivery, according to insiders. This amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian supply, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude accounted for virtually all of the plant's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand bpd, based on trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, according to multiple insiders. Tupras was furthermore expected to in the near future completely eliminate Russian crude at a key facility of its primary major domestic plants to maintain fuel shipments to Europe without breaching the EU’s incoming restrictions. The refiner did not respond to a request for a statement.

Ukrainian Sends Elite Units to Eastern City

Ukraine has deployed special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Moscow's offensive involving thousands of troops, as stated by Ukraine's senior commander. 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 over a year as Moscow pushes to control the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Developments in the City

No fewer than two hundred Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv reported last week, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening address on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the combat in the city and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defence Network

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his allies for more air defense systems to counter Moscow's strikes, stated on Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he said, referring to the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without offering additional information, the Ukrainian president singled out Berlin and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for gratitude.

Moscow's Strikes Claim Civilians, Cut Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory killed no fewer than 6 individuals, among them two children, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the office of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged 11 and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. The attacks disrupted electricity to the entire east Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.