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Ex-President Trump stated this past Sunday that he is not seriously contemplating supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had indicated the Pentagon told the White House that U.S. inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this transfer.

Ukrainian Defense Efforts Persist Without Missile Shortage

While Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russia, it has still managed to wage a effective campaign using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's armed and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the port facility on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two vessels, according to Russian officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be closed.

Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Non-Russian Crude Sources

Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are increasing purchases of alternative crude in response to the recent international sanctions on Russia, according to market sources. Turkey is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, together with China and India, but refiners are following India's example in cutting back supplies.

STAR Refinery Diversifies Crude Sources

A major Turkish refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azeri firm SOCAR, has recently acquired multiple cargoes of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian producers for year-end arrival, as per insiders. This represent roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian crude, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude made up nearly all of the plant's crude intake in October and September, amounting to about 210,000 bpd, based on market data. SOCAR declined to comment.

Another Major Refiner Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases

Another major Turkish oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also increasing purchases of alternative types of crude, according to two sources. The company was also likely to soon entirely phase out imports from Russia at a key facility of its two major Turkish plants to continue fuel exports to Europe without violating the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukrainian Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian offensive comprising thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s top military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a major supply route for the Kyiv's army and has been under Moscow’s crosshairs for over a twelve months as Russia pushes to control the entire eastern Donetsk area.

Latest Developments in Pokrovsk

At least two hundred Russian troops had breached the city's defences, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts assessed that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his nightly address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the combat in Pokrovsk and “results in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defense Network

The president, who has been pushing his partners for more air defences to hold off Moscow's attacks, announced on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We've strengthened the Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defence,” he said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Without providing additional information, the Ukrainian leader specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for gratitude.

Russian Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Electricity

Russian drones and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of at least 6 people, among them 2 minors, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of households, officials said on this past Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged eleven and 14, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s attacks cut electricity to the entire east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their local leaders announced. Ukraine’s Vostok army group said a number of its members were killed in a particular of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.