Yemen Civil War - Situation on the Bab al-Mandab & Taizz Fronts:

Over the last 18 hours, Ansarallah continued their lightning offensive in southwestern Yemen, and have officially captured the entirety of the Red Sea coast.

After the withdrawal of Saudi-backed PLC forces from the port city of Mocha, Ansarallah continued their push southwards along the highway, quickly entering and capturing the port town of Dhubab without much resistance. From there, they advanced further south and seized the last Red Sea coastal town of Murad, thereby capturing the entire Red Sea Coast (except for a small stretch of land in northwestern Yemen). Ansarallah naval units are now using these newly captured areas to launch assaults on the Red Sea islands, capturing Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait; and entering Zuqar Island where battles are ongoing.

Further inland, Ansarallah continued their advance southwest of Taizz, and have begun clearing the mountains overlooking the Red Sea coast. A large portion of these mountains have been captured in the west, with the support of separate attacks through the desert, which saw them capture the 17th Brigade Headquarters and Jabal al-'Umari Mountain, advancing towards the Jabal Kahbub Hills.

At the same time, the Ansarallah offensive down the highway from Al-Mafraq brought them additional results, capturing the town of Ash Shuqayrah, before turning east towards Al Qasfah At Tawil. This push to the east is being supported by advances through the mountains north of the highway, where Ansarallah captured the Jabal Qanāḩū and Qarn Ghurāb Heights, and are now pushing further east towards Banī ‘Umar.

Meanwhile, near Taizz, Ansarallah continued their slow advance towards the last highway resupplying PLC forces in the city, capturing a number of new positions along the road from Al Kadahah, including the village of Al-Mukazama, allowing them to come within 5.5 km of the last highway out of Taizz.

+ ~2,178 km² in favour of Ansarallah.

With the capture of practically the entire Red Sea coastline, including the Bab al-Mandab Peninsula, Ansarallah is now able to establish full surveillance and fire control over the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, enforcing a blockade on ships passing through as they wish.

If they are able to fully secure the rest of the mountains to the east, they will be able to place their ballistic missile, drone, and other rocket launchers directly overlooking the strait, significantly reducing the time it takes to strike vessels, and increasing the number of weapons that are now within range of the strait.

This not only gives Ansarallah a lot more capabilities to deal more damage to shipping from Israel and Saudi Arabia, but also provides them with much more leverage in any future negotiations with Saudi Arabia or the U.S. When the Ansarallah-favourable ceasefire deal with the U.S. was established last year, they didn't have nearly this level of control over the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. I could only imagine how those terms would change now if any future conflict breaks out with the U.S.

Russian Geran-4 jet-drones struck another ammunition depot in Kyiv Oblast, this time in the city of Hostomel.

A large fire subsequently broke out, with secondary detonations heard.

Russian Su-34s continue to heavily strike rear areas of eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

This video shows the impact of 4 KAB glide-bombs on the town of Avramivka, around 48 km from the frontline.

Following the failed FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missile attack, Ukrainian drones attacked Samara City.

It's unknown if anything was actually hit, however the impact of a drone in an open area (likely due to electronic warfare interference) was seen.

Radov had a drunk mental breakdown last night because of the Ukrainian advance into Luhansk Oblast, and characterised the situation as being similar to the withdrawal in 2022.

The IDF released footage showing the massive controlled demolition of the Hezbollah command centre and tunnel complex at Ali al-Taher hill, southern Lebanon.

Ali Al-Taher was previously home to the headquarters of the Badr Unit, which was constructed with the help of the IRGC into a massive fortified complex over a 20-year period.

It's loss and subsequent destruction is a major strategic defeat for Hezbollah, and will significantly impact their ability to defend southern Lebanon from the IDF in the near future.

Yeah, I can imagine you would think that if you only focus in on one sector of warfare (frontline advances), and on one sector of the frontline. People seem to forget that having the "initiative" doesn't mean you won't take tactical or even strategic losses in some subsectors of the war.

No one is denying Russia took a major defeat in the Lyman direction that significantly improves Ukraine's position around Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Borova, but this hasn't changed the overall trajectory of attrition being inflicted, or the war in general. Stop being so hyper-focused on the more "comfortable" aspects of the war, and view it holistically. Everything feeds into everything and influences everything. Nitpicking certain changes to try paint a narrative is misleading and downright misinformation.

Ukrainian forces have re-established control over the village of Vodyane, Velykyi Burluk direction, Kharkiv Oblast (Kupyansk District).

Pre-war population: ~124.
Total land area: ~2.30 km².

The fighting for Vodyane lasted approximately 20 days.