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FormerPresident Trump remarked on Sunday that he was not seriously planning sending Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a reporter on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Recent reports had suggested the Pentagon informed the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a delivery.

Ukrainian Defense Actions Continue Despite Weapon Lack

While Ukrainian forces has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to execute long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to wage a effective operation using its own drones and rockets against Russian military and key objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the port facility on the coast, igniting a blaze and damaging two vessels, according to Russian authorities. Nearby Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkish Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Crude Supplies

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

SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Crude Procurement

A major Turkish refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative suppliers for year-end arrival, according to sources. These purchases represent approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian crude, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia made up nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, amounting to about 210 thousand barrels per day, according to trade information. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.

Another Major Refiner Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

Another major Turkey's oil processor – Tupras – was also increasing acquisitions of alternative types of crude, according to two insiders. The company was furthermore expected to soon entirely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major Turkish refineries to continue petroleum shipments to Europe without violating the European Union's incoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement.

Ukraine Deploys Elite Units to Eastern City

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to repel an intense Russian offensive comprising a large number of troops, as stated by Ukraine's top commander. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply line for the Ukrainian military and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for over a twelve months as Moscow pushes to control the entire east Donetsk region.

Latest Updates in the City

No fewer than 200 Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said recently, while analysts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his evening address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Strengthened Air Defense System

Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defense systems to hold off Russia’s strikes, stated on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence network with Berlin's support. “We've strengthened the Patriot element of our national air defence,” he said, referring to the advanced American air-defence systems. Not offering further details, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Kill Civilians, Disrupt Power

Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than six people, among them 2 children, and disrupted power to thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the office of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors of ages eleven and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. Russia’s strikes disrupted power to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed some of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.