It can feel like bases in Mali are captured by insurgents fairly regularly, but very little progress is made. Here's why that is👇 open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

Why do Sahel bases fall so often?

Poor base design, insurgent strategy, and a cycle of looting explain why government outposts keep falling.

open.substack.com

A Russian MoD map has been leaked. While it's not particularly accurate, it can still be useful in understanding the war in Ukraine. open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

Why the Russian MoD map is wrong

And why it’s probably not as wrong as you thought

open.substack.com

After seeing more and more AI maps come up on my feed this month, I've written up some of the ways you can identify them. open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

For some reason, almost all of the AI maps I've seen have been for Mali/Sahel. Some of them do look good at first glance, but they are full of inaccuracies.

An update article on the situation in Mali after the attacks over the weekend and Islamic State starting attacks of its own. open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

Islamic State tries their luck

As the Malian Army struggles with the JNIM/FLA coalition, IS moves in.

open.substack.com

🇲🇱 A map of the current situation in Mali as attacks by the JNIM and FLA coalition continue. The coalition has taken control of Kidal, Tessalit, Tessit, Ber, and the mines at In-Tahaka. Not wanting to miss out, ISSP seized Labbezanga, but their attempt to take Ménaka failed.

A heatmap for the strikes in Iran that have been possible to verify so far. The greatest concentration is, of course, Tehran.

Updated Strike map for Iran. You can check through datapoints for yourself here: warmapper.org/iran-strikes

I thought I would share some of the strike data that I have. It's a work in progress, and a lot of the labelling and sourcing are still being moved across. warmapper.org/iran-strikes

Close-up satellite imagery from @vantortech.bsky.social showing damage to hardened shelters at the Iranian drone base at Konarak airport.

Close-up satellite imagery from @vantortech.bsky.social showing impacts at the Iranian naval base in Konarak.

Middle East strike map update: 🇮🇷 Nationwide demonstrations that had resumed in the wake of the Ayatollah's death were suppressed by police and government forces. There has been a notable increase in strikes confirmed against police sites across Iran in the past day.

Saudi Arabia and Cyprus/UK? are both now on the list of countries targeted. --> A Saudi Aramco facility in Dammam, near Bahrain, was targeted. --> The UK military base RAF Akrotiri, located in Cyprus, was targeted by drones.

War Mapper@warmapper.org · 5mo ago

The strike map, without labels. Iran has successfully struck targets in: 🇮🇱 Israel 🇯🇴 Jordan 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇰🇼 Kuwait 🇧🇭 Bahrain 🇶🇦 Qatar 🇦🇪 UAE 🇴🇲 Oman

Updated strike map. Notable new strike locations include: --> The French Naval Base in Abu Dhabi, --> Port of Duqm in Oman, --> Tabriz North Missile Base in northern Iran. Note: Only an approximate 4% of claimed strikes on Iran have been confirmed and marked.

An updated map of confirmed strikes. Notable new strikes include: Abu Dhabi International Airport, Dubai International Airport, Bahrain International Airport, and at least 3 strikes on Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

A preliminary map of the strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran, and the strikes by Iran on Israel and US bases across the Middle East. Strikes have been more widespread than is represented; these are based only on reliable reports and confirmations.

Ukraine map updates: On the approach to Slov'iansk, Russia has continued the gradual advances of the past few weeks. They have now pushed beyond the northern edge of Nykyforivka.

As I mentioned on Twitter, 90% of the counteroffensive maps you'll have seen are mappers correcting overmarking of Russian advances. Those villages were never truly under Russian control. It was small forward units in contested areas; these are largely just fluctuations in the contested zones.

War Mapper@warmapper.org · 6mo ago

On the Zaporizhzhia / Dnipropetrovsk boundary, Ukraine pushed through Sosnivka towards Ternove. Ukraine has also attacked west from their positions around Dobropillia, towards Solodke.

Ukraine map updates: Russian forces have continued to make advances around Kostiantynivka over the past week, entering the western side of the settlement.

Ukraine map updates: On the approach to Slov’iansk, Russia has pushed south from their positions in Zakitne, on the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River. Russia has also continued advancing along the E40 and now holds positions on the northern edge of the settlement of Pryvillia.

Map updates will be starting again this week for Ukraine. There have been a couple of small changes to the way I make them, which are detailed here:

Ukraine maps are back

WarMapper control maps for Ukraine will make their return this week.

open.substack.com

A look at the changes in Syria and what it could mean for the Kurdish people. open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

The collapse of Kurdish Rojava

Are we about to see the end of Kurdish autonomy in Syria?

open.substack.com

This week's brief takes a look at the newly declared state in South Yemen, the US arrest of Maduro last week, and the ongoing protests in Iran open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

A New State in South Yemen, Madruo's Arrest, and Iranian Protests Escalate

The Weekly Brief - 09 Jan 2026

open.substack.com

Happy New Year everyone! 🎊🎉

This week's brief looks at the Armed Chinese container ship, US strikes on IS in Nigeria, and a plane crash that killed Libya's top General. open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

Armed Chinese Container Ship, US Strikes on IS, and Libyan Generals Killed.

The Weekly Brief - 27 Dec 2025

open.substack.com

Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄

A look at the failed coup attempt in Benin and the regional response, plus an update on Niger’s uranium convoy. open.substack.com/pub/warmappe...

A Failed Coup in Benin and a Convoy Going Nowhere

The Weekly Brief - 13 Dec 2025

open.substack.com

A map of the current situation in the western Sahel, where Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are fighting jihadist and separatist insurgencies. Due to the nature of the conflict, the operational areas of the insurgent groups are shown rather than 'control'.

It’s been a frustrating few months, as other life priorities have kept me from working on anything for this account (USAID funding 😉). I won’t commit to a return date as I’ve tried that before and wasn’t able to stick to it.

Close-up satellite imagery of the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran following Israeli strikes last night. High-resolution visuals show visible damage to multiple structures across the site. soar.earth/draw/2257