The moment an Israeli armoured vehicle was blown up by an IED in Tulkarm, The West Bank.

These are some of the heaviest battles in the West Bank that I've personally seen in a long time.

Over the past 24 hours, most of the remaining Ukrainians were able to escape through the Central Ore Processing Plant, likely just hours before Russia captured it and severed the last section of land connecting Kurakhivka to the rest of the Ukrainian controlled territory.

This was likely the commanders' decision, rather than the Ukrainian command deciding to withdraw. If this is true, a lot of AFU troops were saved in doing so, but it is still early days, so we may see reports of POWs being captured in the near future.

A local Ukrainian source reported fighting for the Roja train station in eastern Kurakhove.

This is my prediction for the South Donetsk front over the next 2-3 months. I believe we will see an Avdiivka-like situation, where two pincers bypass Kurakhove from the flanks, forcing a Ukrainian withdrawal.

This map shows what I think the situation will be once Kurakhove is entirely in a grey zone. Keep in mind, the 2-3 month prediction assumes that other directions are not prioritised over this one.

I will come back to this map at the beginning of 2025 to see how it compares to the situation then.

Over the past couple of hours, Israel has renewed their airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

At least 8 airstrikes have been carried out so far.

Geolocated footage indicates that Russian forces have advanced and captured one of the two last parts of Makiivka which was still under Ukrainian control.

They were able to advance up three parallel treelines from south to north, approaching a small gulley. Additionally, a small forest was occupied, forcing a Ukrainian withdrawal from this section of the eastern bank of the Zherebets river, leading to the capture of the northernmost houses of Makiivka.

It is possible that Ukraine withdrew from the last section of their bridgehead too, however this remains unconfirmed.

+ ~4.29km² in favour of Russia.

Recent reports from reliable sources suggest that Russian forces have likely captured the village of Kruhlyakivka in the Kupyansk direction.

This was likely done a while ago with a mechanised assault which was caught on video, but was never confirmed to be succesful.

5 Russian armoured vehicles and tanks advanced down the main road. APC(s) were also probably present in this convoy too. Infantry then likely dismounted and took up positions in the southern houses, north of the tributary of the Oskil river.

A second push was then reportedly made along the railway line using the forests as cover and utilising the Oskil river to risk encircling Ukrainian soldiers against it and forcing them to constantly withdraw south. These vectors of attack may have linked up in the middle.

+ ~3.65km² in favour of Russia

Recent reliable reports suggest that Russian forces have advanced in the Kurakhove direction and captured the village of Vovchenka.

Following the probable fall of Kurakhivka, Russian forces likely went on to capture the mines to the west of the town and used them as a springboard to attack Vovchenka form from the north, pushing the Ukrianians over the tributary of the Vovcha river to the village of Stepanivka.

This whole section to the north of the Kurakhove reservoir is about to collapse.

Recent reports from reliable sources suggests that Russian forces advanced northwest of Tabaivka and captured the last section of the tactical heights behind the village.

This section of the Pischane salient has been quiet for a while now, however if true, it would flatten out the frontline in the direction of Pischane (yes there are two of them) and Stepova Novosilka, allowing for an easier advance along the highway to Kupyansk.

Heavy artillery bombardment is being reported around the towns of Majdalya and Maarbalit, following the detection of rebel movements on the southeastern axis of Idlib. FPV drone strikes and machine gun fire was also reported.

My prediction for the 2024 US presidential elections.

Update from the Kurakhove direction - Northern flank:

Recent reports state that Russian forces are continuing to make progress in the direction of the Kurakhove reservoir and are collapsing the front southwards.

It is reported that Russia captured the village of Kremmina Balka, possibly after bypassing it from the west and forcing a Ukrainian withdrawal. Battles are now apparently ongoing for Voznesenka. Further north, clashes continue in Novodmytrivka where Ukraine retains control over the western half of the settlement.

Further south, in Novoselydivka, Russian forces reportedly made a small advance in the southeastern part of the village, capturing a few more houses. However larger progress was apparently made just southeast of Novoselydivka, where two treelines were reportedly seized, with the Russians advancing down one, and branching off onto the other.

And finally, ground attacks are possibly underway on Stepanivka, in an effort to take the Ukrainians west of the mines into a pocket.

Last night, a Ukrainian drone struck an oil depot in the Russian city of Stavropol.