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Ex-President Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he is not really considering providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. In response to a query by a reporter on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense informed the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this transfer.

Ukrainian Military Actions Persist Despite Weapon Lack

Although Ukraine has been requesting Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russia, it has still managed to conduct a effective operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian military and key targets, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack targeted the port facility on the coast, igniting a blaze and damaging two vessels, according to Moscow officials. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be shut down.

Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Crude Supplies

Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing purchases of alternative crude in response to the recent western restrictions on Moscow, according to industry sources. Turkey is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, along with China and India, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in cutting back supplies.

STAR Plant Diversifies Crude Sources

One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian suppliers for December delivery, as per sources. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels daily of non-Russian supply, varying by shipment volume. By comparison, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the STAR refinery's crude intake in recent months, totaling approximately 210,000 barrels per day, according to trade information. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.

Tupras Also Increasing Non-Russian Buys

The other major Turkey's refiner – Tupras – was also raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. Tupras was also expected to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at one of its primary major domestic plants to continue fuel shipments to the EU without breaching the EU’s upcoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for comment.

Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City

Kyiv has sent special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Russian offensive involving thousands of soldiers, as stated by Ukraine's senior military leader. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the entire eastern Donetsk region.

Latest Updates in the City

At least two hundred Moscow's troops had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while analysts concluded that others were advancing on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”

Zelenskyy Announces Strengthened Air Defence System

The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defences to hold off Russia’s strikes, stated on Sunday that the country had strengthened its air-defence network with Berlin's assistance. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defence,” he said, referring to the sophisticated American air-defence systems. Without offering further details, the Ukraine's leader singled out Berlin and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for thanks.

Russian Attacks Kill Innocents, Cut Electricity

Moscow's drones and rockets fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of at least 6 people, among them two children, and cut power to tens of thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the office of the country's prosecutor general. The victims were male minors of ages 11 and fourteen, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. The attacks cut power to the entire east Donetsk area as well as almost 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Vostok military unit said some of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian strikes on the region.