🔗 Share this article Trump States He Isn't Planning Providing Long-Range Missiles to Kyiv. FormerPresident Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not really considering sending Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard his plane, he replied, “No, not really.” Earlier accounts had indicated the Pentagon told the White House that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were ample to enable such a delivery. Ukrainian Defense Actions Persist Without Weapon Shortage Although Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range attacks against Russia, it has still succeeded to conduct a effective campaign using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Moscow's armed and key objectives, including fuel storage facilities and processing plants. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack targeted the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and harming two vessels, as stated by Moscow officials. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be shut down. Turkish Refineries Shift to Alternative Oil Supplies Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in response to the latest international restrictions on Moscow, according to market insiders. Turkey is a significant purchaser of oil from Russia, together with China and India, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's example in reducing supplies. STAR Plant Diversifies Oil Sources A major Turkish refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently purchased four shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian producers for year-end arrival, according to insiders. These purchases amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative crude, depending on shipment volume. In contrast, oil from Russia made up virtually all of the plant's supply in October and September, amounting to approximately 210,000 bpd, based on trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement. Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases The other leading Turkey's refiner – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising acquisitions of non-Russian types of crude, as stated by multiple insiders. Tupras was also expected to soon completely phase out imports from Russia at one of its primary main Turkish plants to continue fuel exports to the EU without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. Tupras declined to comment to a inquiry for a statement. Ukrainian Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk Kyiv has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Moscow's assault involving thousands of soldiers, according to Kyiv’s top commander. The city, called “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a major logistical line for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow pushes to control the entire east Donetsk area. Latest Updates in Pokrovsk No fewer than 200 Russian troops had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv said last week, while military experts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling movement. In his evening address on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.” Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defense Network The president, who has been pushing his partners for more air defences to hold off Moscow's attacks, stated on this past Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We have boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defence,” he said, mentioning the sophisticated American defense systems. Without offering further information, the Ukraine's president specifically thanked Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for thanks. Russian Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Electricity Moscow's unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than 6 people, including two minors, and cut electricity to tens of thousands of households, officials reported on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the representatives of the country's prosecutor general. The children were male minors of ages eleven and 14, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s strikes cut power to the entire east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the south Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Eastern army group confirmed a number of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian attacks on the region.