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FormerPresident Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not really considering sending Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk missiles. After being asked by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Earlier reports had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the administration that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable such a delivery.

Ukraine's Defense Actions Persist Without Weapon Shortage

While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to execute far-reaching strikes against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to wage a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Russian armed and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a fire and harming two vessels, as stated by Russian authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be closed.

Turkish Refineries Turn to Alternative Oil Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are boosting procurement of alternative crude in response to the latest international sanctions on Russia, according to market sources. The country is a major buyer of Russian crude, along with Beijing and New Delhi, but refiners are following New Delhi's lead in cutting back supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and additional alternative suppliers for December delivery, as per insiders. These purchases represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia accounted for virtually all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210,000 bpd, based on market information. SOCAR refused to comment.

Tupras Also Increasing Alternative Buys

Another leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras – was additionally increasing purchases of alternative types of crude, according to multiple insiders. The company was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at one of its primary major domestic refineries to maintain fuel shipments to the EU without violating the EU’s upcoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Sends Elite Units to Pokrovsk

Kyiv has deployed special forces to the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Moscow's assault involving thousands of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s top military leader. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a major supply route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the whole eastern Donetsk region.

Recent Updates in the City

No fewer than 200 Moscow's troops had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said recently, while military experts concluded that others were advancing on its outskirts in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the invading forces.”

Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defense System

The president, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, stated on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence network with Berlin's assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Not offering further information, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Kill Innocents, Cut Electricity

Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory took the lives of at least six people, including two children, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of residents, authorities said on this past Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were two boys of ages eleven and 14, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. The strikes disrupted power to the entire eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Eastern military unit confirmed some of its members were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.