Disappeared again

Unconfirmed reports of a complete Ukrainian retreat from Velyka Novosilka

Russian source on Velyka Novosilka "Not everyone will be able to leave the settlement, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command, as always, has dragged it out until the critical situation".

It sounds like there might still be scattered groups there, but it's difficult to tell right now.

Piecing together different sources, it sounds like Ukrainian forces may have withdrawn from the main part of the town, but the formations east of the Kashlahach river (circled in yellow) are stuck and surrounded.

Ukrainian forces have reportedly counterattacked on the southern flank of Kurakhove, recapturing a series of treeline positions west of the Sukhi Yaly river.

Intense Russian artillery shelling and FAB attacks have reportedly been ongoing in Sudzha, Kursk Oblast for the past 2 hours. They are apparently targeting Ukrainian Air defence posts and defensive strongholds.

Chief of the Israeli General Staff, Herzi Halevi:
“We must be ready for significant counterterrorism operations in the West Bank in the coming days to preempt and apprehend the terrorists before they reach our civilians."

I personally believe that Israel is gearing up to annex the Palestinian controlled parts of The West Bank. Here are a few reasons why.

1. In their briefings and announcements on "anti-terrorist operations" in the West Bank, the IDF has begun referring to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria". Judea and Samaria is the Israeli term for the West Bank (excluding east Jerusalem). They control 230 settlements there, with another 165 "islands" which are under partial or total Palestinian authority (PA) administration (there are anti-PA resistance groups which operate there too). The fact that they have changed what they are officially calling it could represent a change in policy towards the PA-administered parts of the West Bank and while it may seem mainly symbolic, it could foreshadow the future of these territories.

2. The Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal will undoubtably significantly affect Netanyahu's popularity among Israelis, and he will probably lose the remaining support from among the hardliners, nationalists, and far-right Israelis, which was already damaged after his first response to Iran after operation True Promise I but partially restored after his stronger response to Iran's operation True Promise II and the invasion of Lebanon. To retain what support he will still have among right-wing Israelis, Netanyahu may choose a war and annexation of the West Bank. The resistance factions that fight Israel's daily incursions into parts of the PA-Administered West Bank are much weaker than Hamas and their allied factions that operate in the Gaza Strip, due to a number of reasons including lack of manpower and no solid supply lines. This would make a potential invasion much easier and would almost guarantee success.

3. The Palestinian authority has significantly warmed their relations with Israel in recent months, with the primary example of this being their direct cooperation with the IDF against the Jenin Camp Battalion in the West Bank city of Jenin. They have transmitted intelligence to the IDF regarding the location of Palestinian fighters from the Jenin Camp Battalion, allowing for precise Israeli drone strikes and even air strikes on certain areas of the city. The PA has also been fighting against the Jenin Camp Battalion on the ground, firing RPGs at buildings, and engaging in close-quarter combat on the edges of the Jenin refugee camp. The head of the Jenin camp battalion was among a number of fighters were killed in Jenin as a result of these clashes and precision strikes. This could suggest that the Palestinian authority is looking to increase their relations with Israel to ward off a future full-scale IDF invasion of the West Bank, which would undoubtably bring a lot of destruction to densely populated civilian areas.

4. Israeli Defence Minister Katz has cancelled all administrative detention orders against West Bank settlers. Administrative detention is primarily used against Palestinians; however, many settlers are held in administrative detention too.

It's also important to keep in mind that the next Israeli elections are set to take place in 2026, and Netanyahu may want to prove to the Israeli people that he can secure a victory, with said victory possibly being in the form of a war in the West Bank and its subsequent annexation.

Not saying that this will happen in these potential operations, but it’s certainly an escalation.

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order halting all U.S. aid to foreign nations for the next 90 days.

Donald Trump: "I looked at a picture of Gaza, it's like a giant demolition site. That place needs to be rebuilt."

U.S. President Donald Trump has placed Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Former U.S. President Joe Biden had removed Cuba from this list just 6 days earlier. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded by calling Trump's decision to revoke Biden's measures an "act of mockery and abuse."

Trump: "I'm not looking for conflict with Iran, we don't want any conflict. We need to stop the wars. But Iran needs to behave, and we gotta see if we can do something, if we can discuss some things."

The moment a Russian Pantsir S1 air defence missile shot down a Ukrainian UAV over Smolensk city.