Who could've seen that coming 😁

The U.S. is getting a lot of wins in the Middle East right now...

- They abandoned the SDF in favour of a stronger, more stable STG, who can now control and administer oil and gas fields, and further counter Iranian influence in the region.

- Because of this agreement with the SDF, the STG will likely go after Druze factions in Suweida next, namely the SMC, which will prevent the STG from normalising ties with Israel, providing Israel with "justification" to keep expanding their "buffer zone", further strengthening their influence and weakening STG potential.

- The more "extreme" Kurdish groups opposed to the agreement with the STG may also turn to Israel, seeking SMC-like relations and support, providing Israel with additional "justification" to stay at odds with the STG, thereby preventing them from getting too strong and keeping them loyal to the US.

- And all the while, the U.S. can continue their efforts at dismantling the Iranian regime, which could end through additional military operations.

Essentially, a more complex and proxy-based version of "divide and rule". The next few months will be very interesting.

Vuhledar in 2026.

Population: 25

The city is now around 50 km behind the frontline.

Large numbers of Russian Geran-2 and Gerbera drones are arriving at various airbases in preparation for large attacks on Ukraine.

- Several IL-76MD cargo planes landed at Baltimore Airbase, Voronezh Oblast, with drones being delivered to launch sites (presumably including Tsumublova Testing Ground, Oryol Oblast) via rail.

- An IL-76MD landed at Shatalovo Airbase, Smolensk Obalst, delivering drones to the launch site there.

- An IL-76MD landed at Hvardiiske Airbase, Crimea, delivering drones to the launch site there.

An IL-76MD cargo plane landed at Akhtubinsk Airbase, Astrakhan Oblast during the day.

The cargo presumably consists of Kh-59/69 cruise missiles for the Su-57 fighters stationed there.

Explosions in Dnipro. Cause unknown, possibly a missile. There was also an explosion in Zaporizhzhia.

Clarifying.

Zaporizhzhia City is being targeted by Tornado-S rockets equipped with cluster warheads, which were launched from the Tokmak area of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. At least three impacts have been recorded, 2 of which struck the southern part of the city while the third hit the southern outskirts/nearby settlements. A Russian reconnaissance drone is operating in the area, adjusting the strikes.

The explosion heard in Dnipro is from a Geran-2 drone strike on the Stara Ihren District in the southeastern part of the city. Several more drones are now flying in.

A bunch of Ukrainian accounts are fabricating a Ukrainian HIMARS attack on a substation in Donetsk City.

This has not happened, and the photos being spread are old and unrelated. As of now, only UAVs have attacked the city.

Russia's Rubicon unit has published new footage showing a series of drone strikes on rear Ukrainian targets.

Targets hit include:

- A 19Zh6 radar + a trailer in Mykolaiv Oblast (47.07939, 32.09680), ~62 km from the frontline.

- A 36D6 radar in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (48.40642, 35.73496), ~63 km from the frontline.

- A 36D6 radar in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (48.42119, 35.82679), ~62 km from the frontline.

- A 36D6 radar in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (48.80733, 35.38527), ~114 km from the frontline.

- A P-18 radar in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (48.81586, 35.75437), ~101 km from the frontline.

- A P-18MU radar + a truck in Mykolaiv Oblast (46.97961, 31.70417), ~47 km from the frontline.

- Command and control vehicle for a P-18MA radar in Mykolaiv Oblast (47.22859, 32.542), ~63 km from the frontline.

- Command and control vehicle for a 36D6 radar in Odesa Oblast (46.60873, 30.91776), ~45 km from the frontline.

- A 36D6 radar in Kharkiv Oblast (49.40271, 36.61234), ~75 km from the frontline.

- A Buk Surface-to-air missile system in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (48.3567, 36.24613), ~38 km from the frontline.

- 4 strikes on the "Hirnyk" 35 kV electrical substation in Donetsk Oblast (48.58938, 37.48830), ~8 km from the frontline.

Iskander on Kharkiv Oblast from Kursk

Disappeared near Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast.

An explosion was heard in the town of Zolochiv.

The impact occurred outside Zolochiv. Another missile is flying in that direction.

Another explosion in Zolochiv, impacting the same target.

DTEK, Ukraine's largest private investor in the energy sector, published photos claiming to show damage to a substation in Odesa City following Russian Geran-2 drone strikes overnight.

However, the photos turned out to be edited screenshots from an older video of theirs showing damage to the Artsyz substation in Artsyz, Odesa Oblast, after it was attacked by missiles and drones on December 18, 2025.

Geran strikes were indeed carried out on energy infrastructure in Odesa City last night, but these images do not show the damage from this.

Overnight, a Russian Geran-2 drone struck the railway bridge in the town of Vasylkivka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

The drone was equipped with a phosphorus warhead, which resulted in a fire breaking out that burned for over 3 hours, melting the metal of the bridge.

Since then, at least 2 more Geran strikes have been carried out on a different target in Vasylkivka.

Bridge coordinates: 48.20796, 36.00145

Another large-scale combined Russian missile and drone attack is underway on Ukraine.

So far, at least 18 Iskander-M ballistic missiles have been used, with around 15 targeting energy infrastructure in Kyiv and 3 targeting Dnipro.

~11 (!) Iskanders were shot down in three waves near Kyiv due to new patriot deliveries. 2 impacted the CHP-6 power plant, 2 impacted CHP-4 power plant.

All the Iskanders that targeted Dnipro impacted their targets.

Additionally, 2 Iskander-I ballistic missiles (Iskander-M with a 1,000 km range) launched from near Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, impacted a target southeast of Vinnytsia City, Vinnytsia Oblast.

As for strategic aviation, at least 4 Tu-95MS strategic bombers are airborne from Olenya Airbase, Murmansk Oblast, flying to their launch lines in Engels District, Saratov Oblast, where they will likely launch Kh-101 cruise missiles in the next 2.5 hours.

2-3 Buyan-M corvettes from Kaspiysk Naval Base are equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles in the Caspian Sea. They may launch missiles later on too.

I likely wont cover the rest of this attack today as I will be busy for most of the time, but I aim to post a full summary + the consequences afterwards.