🔗 Share this article Donald Trump Says He Isn't Considering Sending Long-Range Cruise Missiles to Kyiv. Ex-President Trump remarked on Sunday that he is not actively considering providing Ukrainian forces with long-range Tomahawk missiles. In response to a query by a journalist on his plane, he replied, “No, not currently.” Recent reports had claimed the U.S. Department of Defense told the White House that American inventories of Tomahawks were ample to allow this delivery. Ukraine's Defense Actions Persist Without Weapon Shortage While Ukrainian forces has been seeking Tomahawk missiles to conduct far-reaching strikes against Russia, it has nonetheless managed to conduct a successful operation using its domestically-produced drones and missiles against Moscow's armed and key objectives, such as oil depots and processing plants. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's drone attack struck the port facility on the coast, causing a blaze and damaging two ships, according to Moscow officials. Adjacent Russian airports in the region also had to be closed. Turkey Oil Plants Shift to Alternative Oil Supplies Turkey's biggest oil refineries are increasing procurement of non-Russian crude in response to the latest western restrictions on Russia, according to market sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of oil from Russia, along with China and New Delhi, but processing companies are mirroring India's lead in cutting back supplies. SOCAR Turkey Refinery Expands Oil Procurement One of the largest Turkish refining plants, the STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijani company SOCAR, has recently acquired four shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian suppliers for year-end delivery, as per sources. This represent approximately tens of thousands of barrels daily of alternative crude, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia made up nearly the entirety of the plant's crude intake in recent months, totaling about 210,000 bpd, based on trade data. SOCAR refused to comment. Tupras Likewise Increasing Alternative Purchases The other leading Turkish refiner – Tupras refinery – was also increasing purchases of alternative types of crude, as stated by multiple sources. The company was also expected to in the near future entirely phase out Russian crude at one of its primary main domestic refineries to continue fuel shipments to Europe without breaching the European Union's incoming sanctions. The refiner declined to comment to a request for comment. Ukraine Sends Elite Units to Pokrovsk Ukraine has deployed elite troops to the embattled east city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Russian offensive comprising a large number of soldiers, according to Ukraine's top military leader. Pokrovsk, called “the entrance to Donetsk,” lies on a major logistical route for the Kyiv's military and has been under Russia's sights for more than a year as Moscow aims to control the entire east Donetsk region. Latest Updates in Pokrovsk No fewer than two hundred Moscow's soldiers had breached the city's defences, Ukrainian officials reported recently, while military experts concluded that additional forces were advancing on its perimeter in a pincer-shaped maneuver. In his evening speech on Sunday, the Ukrainian president spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the invading forces.” Zelenskyy Announces Enhanced Air Defence Network The president, who has been urging his allies for more air defences to counter Moscow's attacks, stated on this past Sunday that Ukraine had reinforced its air defense network with Berlin's assistance. “We've strengthened the Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense,” he declared, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made air-defence systems. Without providing further details, the Ukrainian leader specifically thanked Berlin and its leader, the German chancellor, for thanks. Russian Attacks Claim Civilians, Disrupt Electricity Russian unmanned aircraft and rockets fired at Ukraine took the lives of at least six individuals, including 2 minors, and cut power to tens of thousands of households, officials reported on this past Sunday. Moscow's military attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were male minors aged 11 and 14, said Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s attacks disrupted power to the entire eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 homes in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors announced. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit said some of its personnel were killed in one of the enemy strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.