🔗 Share this article Trump Says He Isn't Contemplating Providing Tomahawk Cruise Missiles to Ukraine. Ex-President Trump indicated on Sunday that he was not actively planning supplying Ukrainian forces with advanced Tomahawk cruise missiles. After being asked by a reporter aboard his plane, he replied, “No, not at the moment.” Earlier reports had indicated the U.S. Department of Defense informed the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to allow this transfer. Ukraine's Military Actions Persist Despite Missile Lack While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has nonetheless succeeded to conduct a effective operation using its own unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles against Moscow's armed and strategic objectives, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. On Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike targeted the port facility on the Black Sea, causing a blaze and damaging two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Adjacent Russian airports in the area also had to be shut down. Turkish Oil Plants Turn to Alternative Crude Sources Ankara's biggest oil refining facilities are increasing procurement of alternative crude in reaction to the latest western sanctions on Moscow, as reported by market insiders. Turkey is a major buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but refiners are mirroring New Delhi's example in cutting back supplies. STAR Refinery Diversifies Crude Sources One of the largest Turkey's refining plants, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), owned by Azerbaijani firm SOCAR, has recently acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative producers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This amount to roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of non-Russian supply, varying by cargo size. In contrast, Russian crude made up nearly the entirety of the plant's crude intake in recent months, totaling about 210 thousand barrels per day, according to market information. SOCAR declined to comment. Tupras Likewise Increasing Non-Russian Purchases The other leading Turkish oil processor – Tupras – was also raising purchases of non-Russian grades of crude, according to two sources. Tupras was also likely to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at one of its two major domestic plants to continue petroleum exports to Europe without violating the EU’s incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for a statement. Ukraine Deploys Special Forces to Eastern City Ukraine has deployed special forces to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an fierce Russian assault involving thousands of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior military leader. The city, dubbed “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a major supply route for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the whole eastern Donetsk region. Recent Developments in the City No fewer than two hundred Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Kyiv reported last week, while military experts concluded that others were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the combat in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.” Ukrainian President Reveals Enhanced Air Defence System Zelenskyy, who has been urging his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's strikes, announced on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air defense network with Germany’s assistance. “We have boosted the Patriot component of our national air defense,” Zelenskyy declared, referring to the sophisticated American air-defence systems. Not offering additional details, the Ukraine's president singled out Berlin and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks. Russian Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Power Russian drones and rockets targeting Ukrainian territory killed no fewer than 6 people, among them 2 minors, and cut power to tens of thousands of residents, authorities reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the representatives of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The victims were male minors of ages eleven and 14, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s attacks disrupted power to the whole east Donetsk area as well as almost 58 thousand households 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 enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.