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Ex-President Trump indicated this past Sunday that he was not seriously contemplating sending Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. In response to a query by a journalist on his plane, he responded, “No, not really.” Recent reports had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense informed the administration that American inventories of Tomahawks were ample to enable this delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Despite Missile Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a effective operation using its own drones and missiles against Moscow's armed and key objectives, such as oil depots and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two vessels, as stated by Russian officials. Nearby Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Crude Supplies

Turkey's largest oil refineries are boosting procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the latest western sanctions on Moscow, as reported by industry sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and India, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in cutting back imports.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Sources

A major Turkish refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian suppliers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative crude, varying by cargo size. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade data. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Likewise Increasing Non-Russian Buys

Another major Turkish refiner – Tupras – was also raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, according to multiple sources. Tupras was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely phase out imports from Russia at one of its primary major Turkish plants to maintain petroleum shipments to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming restrictions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an intense Moscow's offensive comprising thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a major supply line for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for over a year as Moscow pushes to seize the whole eastern Donetsk area.

Recent Developments in Pokrovsk

No fewer than 200 Russian soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials said recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in the city and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network

Zelenskyy, who has been urging his partners for additional air defences to counter Russia’s attacks, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We have strengthened the Patriot component of our national air defense,” he declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Not providing additional details, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Moscow's Attacks Claim Innocents, Cut Power

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets targeting Ukraine killed no fewer than 6 individuals, among them two children, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged eleven and 14, stated the nation's ombudsman. Russia’s attacks cut electricity to the entire east Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Eastern army group said some of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy strikes on the region.