🔗 Share this article Trump Says He Is Not Planning Providing Tomahawk Cruise Missiles to Kyiv. Ex-President Donald Trump stated this past Sunday that he was not seriously contemplating providing Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Earlier reports had claimed the Pentagon told the administration that American inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to enable this delivery. Ukrainian Defense Efforts Persist Without Missile Shortage While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range attacks against Russian targets, it has still succeeded to wage a successful campaign using its domestically-produced drones and rockets against Russian military and key targets, such as fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike struck the Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea, igniting a fire and damaging two ships, according to Russian officials. Nearby airfields in the area also had to be closed. Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Alternative Oil Sources Turkey's biggest oil refineries are boosting procurement of alternative crude in response to the recent western restrictions on Moscow, as reported by market insiders. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, together with Beijing and India, but refiners are following New Delhi's example in cutting back supplies. STAR Refinery Diversifies Crude Procurement One of the largest Turkish refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently purchased multiple cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian suppliers for year-end arrival, as per insiders. This amount to approximately tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, varying by shipment volume. In contrast, oil from Russia accounted for virtually all of the STAR refinery's supply in recent months, totaling approximately 210,000 barrels per day, according to market data. SOCAR refused to provide a statement. Tupras Also Increasing Non-Russian Purchases The other leading Turkey's oil processor – Tupras refinery – was also increasing purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. Tupras was also likely to soon entirely eliminate imports from Russia at one of its two major domestic refineries to continue petroleum shipments to Europe without violating the EU’s upcoming restrictions. The refiner declined to comment to a inquiry for comment. Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City Ukraine has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an fierce Russian offensive involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. The city, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” is located on a key logistical route for the Ukrainian army and has been in Moscow’s crosshairs for over a year as Moscow aims to seize the entire east Donetsk area. Latest Updates in the City At least 200 Moscow's troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials reported last week, while analysts assessed that others were closing in on its outskirts in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.” Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defence System Zelenskyy, who has been urging his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's attacks, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense capabilities with Berlin's assistance. “We've strengthened the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, mentioning the advanced American air-defence systems. Not offering further details, the Ukrainian president specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for thanks. Moscow's Strikes Kill Innocents, Cut Power Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missiles targeting Ukraine took the lives of at least 6 people, among them 2 minors, and cut electricity to thousands of households, authorities reported on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, according to the office of the country's prosecutor general. The victims were two boys aged 11 and 14, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s attacks cut power to the entire east Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Vostok military unit confirmed a number of its members were killed in one of the enemy attacks on Dnipropetrovsk.