Analyst-annotated situation maps for the conflicts we cover — each one dated, sourced, and drawn from our research briefs. Control zones are approximate and front lines shift; these maps are schematic, not precise cartography.
Vintage-style desk globes — a cartographer's tools. Photo: Pexels
Situation map
Ukraine: the eastern front, September 2026
Situation as of 30 September 2026 · Sources: ISW (24–30 Sep assessments), Reuters
Schematic — not precise cartography. Pokrovsk and Dobropillya remain the main-effort axis with no confirmed advances; Russia's winter 2026–27 strike campaign began Sep 29–30 with ~190 drones and missiles against Kyiv's energy grid. ISW calls Russian encirclement claims baseless, and Ukraine holds Nove and Shandryholove near Lyman. Read the explainer
Situation map
Gaza & the West Bank: the “ceasefire” map
Re-verified 1 October 2026 — no significant territorial change · Sources: UN OCHA (25 Sep), EU Council (30 Sep), FDD (29 Sep)
Schematic — not precise cartography. The Yellow Line keeps moving inward, the IDF holds over half of Gaza while Hamas stays armed, and later ceasefire phases are stalled. In the West Bank, three refugee camps sit depopulated and the E1 corridor is the new flashpoint. Read the explainer
Situation map
Lebanon & Syria: the northern front
Situation as of 1 October 2026 · Sources: Reuters (19 Sep), Eurasia.ro / Times of Israel (23–27 Sep), Lebanese/Israeli outlets
Schematic — not precise cartography. UNIFIL prepares to leave after ~48 years, Israel's security zone in south Lebanon is now a “Yellow Line” of its own, and the 2024 ceasefire is dead. Sep 26–27 saw a Hezbollah drone–IDF strike exchange; in Syria, al-Sharaa demands a withdrawal Israel refuses. Read the explainer
Situation map
Sudan: a formalized split
Situation as of 1 October 2026 · Sources: Africa Eye, Sudan War Monitor, Reuters, OCHA
Schematic — not precise cartography. SAF holds the north, east and center; the RSF holds Darfur; Kordofan and Blue Nile are the active seams. In September SAF pushed into the Sodari locality — Sodari town still RSF-held — El Obeid faces a drone campaign, and a UN panel points to UAE-tied supply networks behind the RSF. Read the explainer
Situation map
The Sahel: record violence, April's turning point
Re-verified 1 October 2026 — no significant change · Sources: Global Watch, ACLED, Democrata (28–30 Sep)
Schematic — not precise cartography. April's coordinated strikes on Bamako marked the turning point. Political violence is on course to pass 3,000 events in 2026, JNIM's blockades can squeeze a capital, and IS-Sahel's turf war with JNIM has crossed into Niger. Read the explainer
Situation map
Eastern DRC: two fronts, stalled diplomacy
Situation as of 1 October 2026 · Sources: CTP (Sep 25 review), Eastleigh Voice (Sep 30), UN News
Schematic — not precise cartography. Fighting continues in the Minembwe highlands, where Twirwaneho/M23 pushed the government coalition back in late September. M23 eyes the Ugandan buffer, Amnesty documents mine-site atrocities, and the Montreux talks produced a prisoner-exchange deal. Read the explainer
Situation map
Myanmar: the junta keeps shrinking
Re-verified 1 October 2026 — no significant change · Sources: Reuters (29 Sep), The Irrawaddy, UN briefings
Schematic — not precise cartography. The junta's firm control has fallen to 21–33% of the country while the resistance holds ~42%. The Brotherhood Alliance collapsed with a pro-Beijing tilt, the Arakan Army dominates Rakhine, and the air war on civilians is systematic. Read the explainer
Situation map
Yemen: the Red Sea blitz
Situation as of 1 October 2026 · Sources: AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera, UN OCHA
Schematic — not precise cartography. September's Houthi blitz took the entire Red Sea coastline — the biggest map change in ~4 years. Energy markets reeled as Hormuz closed, Trump called off planned Sep 20 airstrikes, and Houthis are pressing the Kahboub highlands toward Aden. Read the explainer
Situation map
Somalia: the AU draws down
Re-verified 1 October 2026 — no significant change · Sources: AFRICOM (28 Sep), UNSC Res. 2809, Somali government statements
Schematic — not precise cartography. AUSSOM winds down with UNSC Res. 2809 keeping 11,826 troops through Dec 31, 2026 — then no further UN support on offer. Somalia's security future is bilateral — Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Türkiye. Middle Shabelle remains the hotspot. Read the explainer
Visual explainers
Schematics & explainers
Hand-drawn schematic diagrams that accompany our explainers — illustrative, clearly labeled, and linked to the articles they were made for.
Schematic
The Taiwan Strait
Schematic illustration — not to scale. Roughly 130–180 km wide at its narrowest, separating mainland China from Taiwan. The dashed median line is an unofficial boundary neither side formally recognizes as a border. Read the explainer →
Schematic
The Red Sea chokepoint
Schematic illustration — not to scale. The Bab el-Mandeb strait — about 30 km wide at its narrowest — links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Houthi attacks on shipping here since November 2023 forced many vessels around Africa instead of using the Suez route. Read the explainer →
Schematic
Anatomy of a no-fly zone
Schematic illustration — not to scale. A no-fly zone is not a line on a map — it is an enforcement operation: aircraft on patrol, air defenses suppressed, and a legal mandate behind it. Enforcement is what makes it hard, costly, and risky. Read the explainer →
Schematic
How combat footage gets verified
Schematic illustration — not to scale. Open-source analysts cross-check footage four ways before trusting it: where it was filmed, when it was filmed, whether the file itself is authentic, and whether it already existed online. Read the explainer →
