A new report states that Russian forces have advanced into Dachne, and established control of around half of the village. Originally, there were reports of assault operations on the livestock farm in the south of the village. If this report is true, it would indicate that Russian forces have captured this, and some of the eastern houses.

Ukraine is apparently putting up more resistance than usual here but is still being forced to slowly retreat towards the highway.

Russian forces have reportedly restarted offensive operations from Dalnje. A Ukrainian source reported that a column of 9 vehicles is advancing from the settlement.

If I had to guess, it is probably headed west, to bypass the Ukrainian garrison in Upsenivka.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: "We are fighting on 7 fronts, and another front may join it".

A reliable source reported that the refractory plant in Chasiv Yar has been practically captured by the Russians, although there are still some Ukrainians in the western buildings.

Fighting is reportedly gradually shifting towards the high-rise buildings in the city centre.

The remaining SDF forces on the western bank of the Euphretes river, southeast of Madan have evacuated their positions. This means that the cities of Al Bukamal, Al-Mayadin and Deir Ezzor are now under HTS control.

This will further test the US' support for the SDF and may further escalate tensions between the US and HTS.

In Kursk Oblast, Russian forces have reportedly entered Makhnovka and are now fighting for the village. It is unclear if they were able to gain a foothold, however.

Makhnovka is located right next to Sudzha.

A new report states that Russian forces have captured the village of Sontsivka and are now attacking westwards towards the nearby treelines.

This puts any remaining Ukrainian formations southeast of the village even more at risk of encirclement.

This is what Pokrovsk sounds like today...

Russian forces are now approximately 35% of the way from Donetsk city to Pavlohrad.

A reliable source reported that Russian forces are just 1.5km from Pokrovsk. The battle for the city is going to start very soon.

I was just wondering, has anyone seen any proof of North Korean soldiers in Kursk yet? Any at all?? I mean it’s been like a month now and I haven’t seen any.

It's looking more and more likely that under Trump, the US will recognise the state of Somaliland. For those who don't know, Somaliland is a breakaway state from Somalia that declared its independence in 1991. It is widely regarded as one of the more successful unrecognised states, as it has held 6 successful democratic elections since 1991.

Support for Somaliland has reportedly grown strong among Republican US-Africa policy leaders on Capitol Hill, right-leaning Washington DC think tanks, and Africa advisors of Trump’s incoming White House. Semafor - a political-based website - said that many of these people told them that they would "encourage Trump to recognize Somaliland even if it wasn’t on Day One."

Peter Pham, a former Africa envoy in Trump’s first term, said Somaliland’s democratic process had "demonstrated its attractiveness as a partner for the United States and other countries."

Opinions range on whether Somaliland should be recognised or not. Some regard recognising it as an action that will destablise the Horn of Africa and elicit a sharp rebuke from the African Union. Others say that Somaliland has proved that they can run their own country and that there's no plausible scenario where they would willingly return to Somalia.

However, one of the main players with a vested interest in Somaliland is Ethiopia. Ethiopia signed a controversial maritime agreement with the territory. As Ethiopia is the most populous land-locked country in the world, they are very keen to have access to Somaliland's Berbera port for trade, and other reasons. This has sparked diplomatic tensions with Somalia, but if Trump were to recognise Somaliland, Ethiopia's gamble could pay off.

For the fourth day in a row, violent clashes are occurring in the West Bank city of Jenin between Palestinian authority security forces and the Al-Quds brigades Jenin Battalion.

"The Biden administration on Wednesday warned that Russia may fire another intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine".

- Bloomberg.

A recent report by Ukrainian source "Deepstate" suggests that Russian forces have likely made a small advance south of Rozlyv.

Russian forces likely advanced downhill from their positions on the tactical heights, and into a gulley-like area, seizing control over two more treelines, and gaining a foothold on a third.

Reports by multiple reliable sources suggest that Russian forces have likely advanced in the Andriivka direction and have completed the capture of Pushkine.

Previously it was reported that Russian forces had entered the village from the east and established control over its first houses, although only one reliable source had reported on its capture.

This comes as Russian forces reportedly approach the village of Novoolenivka from the north and threaten the encirclement of Ukrainian formations north and northwest of Pushkine.

A recent report by the Ukrainian source "Deepstate" suggests that Russian forces likely continued to advance in southern Kurakhove.

Russian forces likely completed the capture of the eastern half of the dachas and entered the first buildings in the western part of the Pivdennyi micro-district. There were also reports yesterday that Russian forces captured most of this district.

If both the reports from yesterday (in yellow) and Deepstate's report (in purple) are true, then it would suggest that there is a small group of Ukrainian forces operationally encircled in a few of the high-rise buildings in the western part of the micro-district.

Battles have broken out between the Al-Quds brigades' Nablus Battalion and Israeli special forces in the West Bank city of Nablus after Israeli forces launched yet another raid into the city.