Trump Says He Isn't Planning Providing Tomahawk Cruise Missiles to Kyiv.
FormerPresident Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not actively contemplating supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he answered, “No, not at the moment.” Recent accounts had indicated the Pentagon told the White House that American stockpiles of Tomahawks were adequate to allow such a transfer.
Ukraine's Defense Actions Continue Without Weapon Shortage
While Ukraine has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching attacks against Russia, it has nonetheless succeeded to wage a effective operation using its own drones and rockets against Russian armed and key objectives, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike hit the port facility on the Black Sea, causing a fire and harming two vessels, as stated by Moscow authorities. Adjacent airfields in the area also had to be shut down.
Turkish Refineries Shift to Non-Russian Crude Supplies
Turkey's largest oil refineries are increasing purchases of non-Russian crude in response to the latest western sanctions on Russia, as reported by market sources. Turkey is a major buyer of Russian crude, along with Beijing and India, but refiners are following India's lead in cutting back supplies.
STAR Refinery Expands Oil Procurement
A major Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has lately purchased four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and additional alternative producers for December arrival, as per insiders. These purchases represent roughly 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of alternative crude, depending on cargo size. By comparison, Russian crude made up nearly all of the STAR refinery's crude intake in October and September, totaling approximately 210,000 barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR refused to provide a statement.
Another Major Refiner Also Boosting Alternative Buys
The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising purchases of alternative grades of crude, as stated by multiple sources. Tupras was furthermore likely to soon entirely phase out Russian crude at a key facility of its two main domestic refineries to maintain fuel exports to Europe without breaching the European Union's upcoming restrictions. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine Sends Special Forces to Pokrovsk
Ukraine has deployed special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Moscow's offensive comprising thousands of soldiers, according to Ukraine's top military leader. The city, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a key supply route for the Ukrainian army and has been in Russia's sights for over a year as Russia aims to control the whole eastern Donetsk region.
Recent Updates in Pokrovsk
No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts assessed that additional forces were closing in on its outskirts in a encircling maneuver. In his evening speech on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the fighting in the city and “results in the destruction of the occupiers.”
Zelenskyy Reveals Strengthened Air Defence Network
Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for additional air defense systems to counter Moscow's attacks, stated on this past Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air defense capabilities with Berlin's support. “We've boosted the U.S.-made Patriot element of our national air defense,” he declared, referring to the sophisticated American air-defence systems. Not providing further details, the Ukrainian president singled out Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for gratitude.
Moscow's Attacks Kill Civilians, Disrupt Electricity
Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory took the lives of no fewer than 6 people, including 2 children, and cut power to thousands of residents, officials reported on this past Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa areas, said the office of the country's prosecutor general. The children were two boys of ages eleven and 14, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner. The attacks cut electricity to the whole eastern Donetsk area as well as nearly 58 thousand homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. The Eastern army group said a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.
