Ex-President Donald Trump remarked this past Sunday that he is not really considering sending Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. When questioned by a journalist aboard Air Force One, he replied, “No, not currently.” Earlier accounts had claimed the Pentagon told the administration that U.S. stockpiles of Tomahawks were sufficient to allow such a delivery.
While Ukraine has been pursuing Tomahawk missiles to carry out far-reaching attacks against Russian targets, it has still managed to wage a effective operation using its own drones and rockets against Moscow's military and key objectives, including fuel storage facilities and refineries. This past Sunday, a Kyiv's airstrike hit the Tuapse oil port on the coast, igniting a fire and harming two ships, according to Russian authorities. Nearby Russian airports in the region also had to be shut down.
Turkey's largest oil refining facilities are boosting purchases of non-Russian crude in reaction to the latest international restrictions on Russia, according to industry sources. Turkey is a significant buyer of Russian crude, together with Beijing and India, but refiners are mirroring India's example in reducing imports.
One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR), operated by Azeri company SOCAR, has recently acquired multiple shipments of crude from Iraq, Kazakh, and other alternative producers for December arrival, as per insiders. This amount to approximately 77,000 to 129,000 barrels daily of alternative supply, depending on shipment volume. By comparison, oil from Russia made up virtually the entirety of the STAR refinery's supply in October and September, totaling approximately 210 thousand barrels per day, based on trade data. SOCAR refused to comment.
The other leading Turkey's refiner – Tupras refinery – was additionally raising purchases of alternative types of crude, according to multiple sources. The company was furthermore expected to in the near future entirely phase out imports from Russia at one of its two major Turkish refineries to maintain petroleum exports to the EU without violating the European Union's incoming sanctions. The refiner did not respond to a inquiry for comment.
Kyiv has sent elite troops to the heavily contested east city of Pokrovsk in an effort to repel an intense Moscow's offensive comprising a large number of soldiers, according to Ukraine's senior military leader. Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk,” is located on a major logistical line for the Ukrainian military and has been under Russia's crosshairs for more than a year as Moscow pushes to seize the whole east Donetsk region.
At least 200 Russian troops had breached Pokrovsk’s defensive lines, Ukrainian officials said last week, while military experts concluded that others were advancing on its outskirts in a pincer-shaped movement. In his nightly address on this past Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of the fighting in the city and “successes in the elimination of the occupiers.”
The president, who has been urging his allies for additional air defense systems to counter Russia’s attacks, stated on Sunday that Ukraine had strengthened its air-defence capabilities with Berlin's support. “We have strengthened the U.S.-made Patriot component of our national air defence,” Zelenskyy said, mentioning the advanced U.S.-made defense systems. Without providing additional details, the Ukraine's leader specifically thanked Germany and its chancellor, the German chancellor, for gratitude.
Moscow's drones and missiles fired at Ukrainian territory killed at least six individuals, including 2 children, and disrupted power to thousands of households, authorities said on Sunday. Russian forces struck the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, according to the representatives of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. The victims were male minors aged 11 and fourteen, stated Ukraine’s ombudsman. Russia’s attacks cut power to the entire east Donetsk area as well as nearly 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Vostok military unit said a number of its personnel were killed in a particular of the enemy attacks on the region.
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