FormerPresident Trump stated on Sunday that he was not really contemplating providing Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. When questioned by a reporter on Air Force One, he answered, “No, not currently.” Recent reports had suggested the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were adequate to allow this delivery.
Although Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct long-range strikes against Russian targets, it has still managed to wage a successful operation using its domestically-produced unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets against Russian armed and key objectives, such as oil depots and refineries. On Sunday, a Ukrainian airstrike struck the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a blaze and damaging two ships, as stated by Moscow officials. Adjacent airfields in the region also had to be closed.
Ankara's largest oil refineries are boosting procurement of alternative crude in response to the latest international restrictions on Russia, as reported by market sources. Turkey is a major buyer of oil from Russia, together with China and India, but refiners are mirroring India's lead in reducing supplies.
One of the largest Turkey's refineries, the STAR refinery, operated by Azeri firm SOCAR, has lately purchased multiple shipments of crude from Iraqi, Kazakh, and other alternative producers for year-end delivery, according to sources. This amount to roughly tens of thousands of barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply, depending on cargo size. By comparison, Russian crude made up virtually all of the plant's crude intake in recent months, amounting to approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to provide a statement.
Another major Turkey's refiner – Tupras – was additionally raising purchases of alternative types of crude, as stated by two sources. The company was also expected to soon completely eliminate imports from Russia at a key facility of its primary main domestic plants to continue fuel shipments to the EU without violating the European Union's upcoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a request for a statement.
Kyiv has sent special forces to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to push back an intense Russian assault comprising a large number of troops, according to Kyiv’s senior commander. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” lies on a key logistical line for the Ukrainian military and has been in Russia's sights for over a twelve months as Russia pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.
At least two hundred Moscow's soldiers had penetrated the city's defensive lines, Kyiv said last week, while military experts concluded that others were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening address on this past Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “successes in the destruction of the invading forces.”
The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defences to counter Moscow's strikes, announced on this past Sunday that the country had reinforced its air-defence capabilities with Germany’s support. “We have boosted the Patriot element of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without offering further details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its leader, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.
Russian drones and rockets fired at Ukraine killed at least six individuals, among them 2 minors, and disrupted electricity to tens of thousands of residents, officials said on this past Sunday. Moscow's military struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The victims were two boys of ages 11 and fourteen, said the nation's human rights commissioner. Russia’s attacks disrupted power to the whole eastern Donetsk region as well as nearly 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. The Eastern army group said some of its members were killed in one of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.
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