Over the last couple of days, the Saraya Al-Quds Brigades (PIJ) claimed responsibility for two attacks against Israeli forces in the West Bank.

In the town of Al Dhahiriya, southern West Bank, a fighter from the local armed group "Hebron Battalion" opened fired on an Israeli raiding force. Israeli media reported that an IDF officer was injured.

In the town of Silat al-Harithiya, northern West Bank, the local armed group "Jenin Battalion" reportedly detonated an IED against an IDF vehicle during an Israeli raid on the town.

I'm getting a lot of angry comments from Pro-Russians and Pro-Ukrainians alike with this post, so I would like to clarify for those who do not have the reading comprehension skills necessary to read more than one sentence:

I don't know if the facility was used to store drones or not. It could have been, or it could have not been. I don't want to come to any conclusions right now, as there is a lot of contradictory evidence.

If I figure out what actually happened, I will make a follow up post. But for now can you all please stop crying in my comments, calling me a Ukrainian propagandist or a Russian propagandist. You're all acting like children.

A Ukrainian Su-24 crashed in Khmelnytskyi Oblast shortly after taking off from Starokostyantyniv Airbase. Both crew members were reportedly killed.

The crash was unrelated to any Russian interception attempts.

⚡️🇮🇷🇮🇶 IRGC has carried out a drone strike on the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups near Koy Sanjaq, east of Erbil in northern Iraq, using multiple Shahed‑136 one‑way attack drones.

@wfwitness

Over the last 24 hours, the IDF has continued to violate the new ceasefire agreement, firing artillery shells at multiple different towns in southern Lebanon.

The video shows tank fire near the town of Kfar Tebnit.

⚡️🇱🇧🇮🇱 Israeli drones continue to violate Lebanese airspace with drones flying over Beirut and Its suburbs at a very low altitude.

@wfwitness

⚡️🇱🇧🇮🇱 Overnight the Israeli ceasefire violations continued targeting several southern towns:

Airstrikes:

-Nabatieh El Fawqa
-Outskirts of Kfar Tebnit

Artillery shelling:

- Outskirts of Nabatieh El Fawqa
-Kfar Tebnit
- Ali El Tahir hill
- Kfarjouz
- Outskirts of Nabatieh city
- Khirbet Selem
- Jabal El Rafie

@wfwitness

Situation on the Kostyantynivka direction, Donetsk Oblast:

Over the last two weeks, Russian forces continued their offensive operations and have made significant progress within Kostyantynivka.

West of Kostyantynivka, Russian forces recaptured positions in the western part of Stepanivka and secured positions in the forests to the west. Other assault groups are infiltrating the eastern part of Dovha Balka and advancing towards the southern part of the village.

In the western part of Kostyantynivka, following earlier Russian breaches, Ukraine withdrew most of their forces from the western suburbs to the eastern and northwestern parts of the city. This allowed Russia to finally capture the last parts of Illinivka and secure most of the western suburbs. From there, Russian forces are continuing to infiltrate across the Kryvyi Torets River to the Chemical Plant, and have begun attacks across the river towards the rear of Ukrainian forces stationed near the railway station.

In the northwestern part of Kostyantynivka, the Russians broke through north to Lomonosova Street where they are engaged in fierce battles with Ukrainian special forces. Ukrainian forces are now withdrawing from this part of the city to the Novoselivka District. However, as they are doing this, Russia is already entering the Novoselivka District, moving behind Ukrainian lines by advancing up the western bank of the "First Pond" and along Lomonosova Street itself.

In the southern part of Kostyantynivka, Russian forces cleared the remaining Ukrainian strongpoints outside the city and captured the rest of the southern industrial zone after fierce battles. Other assault groups captured the remaining private sector in southern Kostyantynivka on both banks of the river, reaching the railway station from the south.

In the southeastern part of Kostyantynivka, Russian forces continued battles for the area of the railway station, and cleared the rest of the forest east of the city. From there, they are deepening their infiltrations towards the stadium from multiple directions. Due to Russian infiltrations in the northern part of the city, Ukrainian forces have initiated a withdrawal from the eastern part of Kostyantynivka.

In the northern part of Kostyantynivka, the Russians continued accumulating their forces in Novodmytrivka and the forests to the west for further infiltrations into the so-called "Historical Centre". Forward assault groups were able to break through to the main highway, thereby operationally encircling Ukrainian formations stationed in the eastern suburbs. Fierce battles continue for the Historical Centre, as well as the private sector to the north, where Russia has been unable to establish stable control due to a number of Ukrainian positions still existing intermingled with Russian positions. At the same time, Russia has begun advancing towards the northernmost part of the city, infiltrating along the southern bank of the tributary of the Kryvyi Torets River.

Northeast of Kostyantynivka, Russian forces continued infiltrations into Molocharka from Novodmytrivka, and have also begun infiltrations west across the tributary of the Kryvyi Torets River towards the northernmost part of Kostyantynivka. Meanwhile, other assault groups began attacks northeast of Novodmytrivka towards Podilske.

+ ~13.73 km² in favour of Russia.

Interactive map link: amkmapping.com

Here's a closer up view of the approximate situation in Kostyantynivka right now.

The locations of heaviest fighting are marked in green, the two remaining roads leading out of the city are marked in yellow, and new Russian DRG activity is marked in pink.

I think we can expect a full Ukrainian withdrawal to the northwestern suburbs over the next two weeks, where they will presumably make a final stand in the Battle of Kostyantynivka.

The Russian gamble in Lyman... (Part one)

As Ukrainian forces continue their counterattacks north of Lyman, Russia appears to have taken a gamble, concentrating their assault forces near Lyman in a sudden attempt at taking the city, instead of deploying them to slow down the Ukrainian advance on the flanks.

This post will cover both the Russian advance and the Ukrainian counterattacks:

--------------------

Russian advances:

East of Lyman, following earlier Ukrainian infiltrations, Russian forces recaptured previously lost positions at the Pynkov Yar Gulley and the Lyman-Zarichne Road, before initiating a series of assault operations to the west, allowing them to clear a number of strongpoints and positions which were previously in the grey-zone.

As Russian forces work on fully clearing the rest of the fields east of Lyman, other assault groups began a series of coordinated assault operations aimed at seizing large parts of the city following earlier deep infiltrations.

Russian forces were able to advance from the agricultural complex on the northern outskirts of the city and capture positions to the south towards Slobozhanska Street, establishing stable control over these areas of the private sector. Other assault groups penetrated further south, entering the city centre. Coordinated attacks are now taking place in the northeastern part of Lyman from the south and north, where Ukrainian formations stationed near School No. 2 and the City Central Hospital have found themselves in an operational encirclement. Russia is now working to increase their zone of control here by attacking from the south towards the city centre, linking up with infiltrators penetrating from the north.

Additionally, Russian forces managed to break into Lyman from the south following earlier infiltrations through the forests, operationally encircling the Ukrainian strongholds in the high-rise district. This allowed them to link up with other infiltrators penetrating from the north in the area of the railway depot.

Furthermore, Russian forces broke through Ukrainian defences in northern Lyman, advancing west from the agricultural complex, and then southwest through the private sector towards the railway line, bypassing the Lyman Lake from the west. Fierce battles are now underway for this far-western part of the city.

(Part 2 is below) ⬇️

(Part two) Ukrainian advances:

North of Lyman, Ukrainian forces intensified their assault operations, making significant progress in coordination with the main thrust from the north, with the goal of eliminating the Russian bridgehead west of the Nitrius River.

Ukrainian forces cleared the rest of the forest south of Drobysheve from Russian infiltrators and recaptured positions in the centre of the town. From there, they are now advancing northeast along the road to Stavky, while infiltrating towards Russian positions in the gulley west of Kolodyazi. West of the Nitrius River, assault operations also continued in the southern part of Novoselivka.

To the east, the Ukrainians linked up with their forces east of Stavky by recapturing some treeline positions, which allowed them to improve their positions in the forest plantations northwest of Zarichne. Meanwhile, the earlier Ukrainian infiltrations into northern Zarichne were eliminated, with Russian forces managing to clear the northwestern streets of the village.

On the northern flank, Ukrainian forces achieved a localised breakthrough over the past month, advancing south along the eastern bank of the Nitrius River towards Shandryholove. They were also able to clear the northwestern and eastern parts of Karpivka, re-establishing full control over the settlement, before breaking through east and uphill along several parallel forested gullies, recapturing treeline positions at the summit of the tactical heights east of the Nitrius River.

With a solid line of positions on the high ground now secured, the Ukrainians went on to penetrate even deeper into Russian-controlled territory, advancing downhill to the gulley to the east, where they entered the village of Lypove and the surrounding forests, while other forces secured most of the rest of southern Ridkodub on the left flank of this advance. From here, Ukrainian forces are launching assaults east by bypassing Nove from the south, and south to the northern outskirts of Zelena Dolnya. Some soldiers were able to enter the western part of Nove.

To the northeast, following the earlier failed mechanised assault, Ukrainian forces cleared the fields south of Novyi Myr, before pushing southeast to the rear of Nove, which they are currently trying to encircle in coordination with the assaults south of the village. Other assault groups are pushing even further east through the fields between Novomykhailivka and Katerynivka, and are attempting to capture a series of forested areas just west of the regional border with Luhansk Oblast.

+ ~45.46 km² in favour of Ukraine.
+ ~14.93 km² in favour of Russia.

(Part one is above)

Here's a closer-up view of the approximate situation in Lyman, showing the current Russian infiltration routes.

Right now, Russian soliders are operating within the city centre and most other districts of Lyman, and have established stable control over several blocks in the northern suburbs.

I warned about these increased Russian infiltrations a little over a week ago, and since then the situation for Ukraine has rapidly become critical. We may be witnessing a repeat of Kostyantynivka unfold, but it remains unclear as to how much Russia will be able to consolidate in these new areas.

Here's a closer-up view of the approximate situation north of Lyman, where Ukrainian forces are continuing their counterattacks aimed at eliminating the Russian bridgehead west of the Nitrius River.

Fierce battles continue for the areas of Zelena Dolnya, Nove, Lypove, Katerynivka, Shandryholove, Ridkodub, and Novomykhailivka. Because of these recent advances, this Russian bridgehead is now at serious risk of being cut off, especially considering that Russia is concentrating most of its assault forces to capture Lyman itself.

However, if Lyman falls before Ukraine can cut off the bridgehead, Russia may be able to advance north to rear of the Ukrainian forces who are attacking the salient from the south, in order to secure the bridgehead.

This is why I call it the "Russian gamble in Lyman".

Yet every time it turns out that the so-called "rumours" I map off are true, and then everyone forgets that they ever accused me of lying in the first place.

Dobropillya, Kupyansk, Pokrovs'ke, Stepnohirsk, and now Lyman. All areas where Ukraine counterattacked, people claimed I was lying or hyping, and then it turned out I was right. Pro-Ukrainians do the same thing when I report on Kostyantynivka, Sumy, Vovchansk, and Pokrovsk.

But let's be honest, people like this didn't stop paying attention to me because I was "caught spreading rumours". You stopped paying attention because my reports didn't reflect the narrative that you have bought into about Ukrainian counterattack capabilities and Russian offensive progress.

This kind of stuff is exactly what NAFO has done for the last 4 years, but we now get to see it from both sides 😁

Also, yes, for those wondering, Ukraine is doing another OPSEC operation for their counterattacks north of Lyman, just like what they did with their localised counteroffensive near Pokrovs'ke in February-March 2026.

Once Ukraine has consolidated a lot of their progress, we will see changes made on Deepstate, and some new "unexpected" geolocations come out as the release of footage is slowly authorised. You will also see Russian sources notice these geolocations, and map a "sudden 8 km Ukrainian breakthrough," when in reality, these gains occurred over several weeks.

Luckily, through shreds of information, satellite imagery, and other data, I have been able to make a fairly accurately map of what has occurred so far. I am very confident with the accuracy of my map in this sector.

One of the reasons why it took me a month to post this update on Lyman is because I spent so long verifying the extent, nature, and level of success of these Ukrainian counterattack, which is always more difficult when the Ukrainian command is trying to actively conceal the presence of the counterattacks, especially with how complicated the "frontline" is nowadays.

Maksym Lavrynenko, the owner of Ukraine's largest Telegram channel network "Truexa" announced that he was tracked down by 5 members of the TCC (territorial recruitment) on the personal orders of Ukrainian Defence Minister Fedorov, after attempting to investigate corruption in Ukraine's defence sector.

He accused the Ukrainian government of trying to silence them on a story that could become "one of the biggest corruption scandals since the beginning of the war".

Maksym Lavrynenko's Truexa network is also well known for being the largest publisher of videos of Russian strikes, and in the past has been accused of leaking air defence positions.

Additionally, in 2023, one of the largest Russian bloggers Rybar accidentally leaked his Telegram DMs during a livestream, which showed his most recent message being from Lavrynenko, who was conversating with Rybar in a friendly manner about the ongoing Ukrainian summer counteroffensive.

Personally, I'm surprised he wasn't apprehended sooner. I doubt he has any ill intentions towards Ukraine with these controversies, but they certainly provide the Ukrainian government with "justification" for an arrest.

Keep in mind from a symbolic perspective. that these recent advances put the “Holy Mountain” or «Святые Горы» national park well and truly in reach for Russia.

This will be a large morale boost for Russian forces, to capture such a religiously significant area.

This forest is completely destroyed though. Sentinel imagery shows it fully blackened out now.

— Note that Iran has not made any commitment not to enrich uranium. The absence of this commitment from the MoU is very telling.

In fact, Trump made several comments today that implied Iran would be allowed to continue enrichment at low levels (likely 3.67% for civilian use).

That would be extremely embarassing for the United States, considering that the official position during the Araqchi-Witkoff negotiations was ‘zero enrichment’ for 10-20 years.

@Middle_East_Spectator