🔗 Share this article Donald Trump States He Isn't Planning Providing Tomahawk Cruise Missiles to Kyiv. Ex-President Trump stated on Sunday that he was not really planning supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a reporter aboard his plane, he answered, “No, not really.” Earlier reports had indicated the Pentagon told the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were ample to enable such a transfer. Ukrainian Defense Actions Persist Despite Missile Shortage While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a successful campaign using its domestically-produced drones and rockets against Moscow's armed and strategic targets, such as fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike struck the port facility on the Black Sea, igniting a blaze and damaging two ships, as stated by Russian authorities. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be shut down. Turkey Refineries Turn to Alternative Crude Supplies Ankara's largest oil refineries are increasing purchases of non-Russian crude in reaction to the latest western sanctions on Moscow, according to industry sources. Turkey is a major purchaser of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's lead in cutting back supplies. SOCAR Turkey Plant Diversifies Crude Sources One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently purchased four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other non-Russian suppliers for December arrival, as per sources. This amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative crude, depending on cargo size. In contrast, oil from Russia made up nearly the entirety of the plant's crude intake in recent months, totaling approximately 210,000 bpd, based on market data. SOCAR declined to comment. Tupras Likewise Boosting Alternative Buys The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was additionally increasing purchases of alternative types of crude, according to multiple sources. Tupras was also expected to in the near future completely phase out Russian crude at one of its primary main domestic refineries to continue fuel exports to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for comment. Ukrainian Sends Elite Units to Eastern City Ukraine has sent special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Russian assault comprising thousands of troops, as stated by Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a major supply line for the Kyiv's army and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for over a twelve months as Russia pushes to control the entire eastern Donetsk area. Latest Developments in the City At least 200 Russian soldiers had breached the city's defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his nightly speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in the city and “successes in the elimination of the invading forces.” Ukrainian President Reveals Strengthened Air Defence Network Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Moscow's strikes, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense network with Berlin's support. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense,” Zelenskyy said, mentioning the sophisticated U.S.-made defense systems. Not providing additional details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude. Moscow's Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Power Moscow's drones and missiles targeting Ukrainian territory killed no fewer than 6 people, including 2 minors, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of the country's chief prosecutor. The victims were two boys aged eleven and fourteen, stated the nation's human rights commissioner. The attacks cut electricity to the entire eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Eastern military unit said a number of its members were killed in a particular of the enemy attacks on the region.