Explosions in northern Kherson Oblast

Hardly any new changes on the frontlines today, so don't expect many map updates for now.

Just a couple of small Russian advances in the east, and some frontline corrections in Ukraine's favour in Kharkiv and Kursk Oblasts.

In the salient west of Kurakhove, Russian forces continued their advance in the village of Dachne, taking up new positions in the central part of the settlement.

Russian forces advanced from their positions in the residential area in the south of the village, capturing the sports centre, the local park and two more residential streets.

The rest of the central and northern parts of the village remain in the grey zone, while Ukrainian forces are mostly present in the western part of the village.

+ ~0.17km² in favour of Russia.

On the eastern flank of Pokrovsk, Russian forces made a small advance north of the village of Vodzyvzhenka.

Russian forces advanced from positions in the western part of the village, capturing a treeline in the low-lying ground. They also advanced north from the northern approaches to the village, capturing a couple of forest plantations.

+ ~0.97km² in favour of Russia.

Frontline correction in northern Kharkiv Oblast:

At some point, Ukrainian forces recaptured the rest of the forests northeast of the village of Tykhe. Most of these forests were already in the grey zone, however.

West of Tykhe, Ukrainian forces advanced and captured positions in the forest plantations. It is possible that this advance is newer, as there were some unconfirmed reports of Ukrainian progress in an unspecified area near Tykhe about a week ago. That would make sense as the Russians recently advanced into northern Tykhe, and a Ukrainian flanking counterattack would put pressure on the Russians from the west.

+ ~10.98km² in favour of Ukraine.

In the southeastern part of the Kursk salient, Ukrainian forces advanced in the village of Makhnovka, recapturing most of it.

This advance likely occurred a couple of weeks ago, when the reports of this first emerged.

Either way, Ukrainian forces advanced from positions in southern Zamoste, entering the northern part of Makhnovka, where they quickly panned out into the rest of the streets, taking up positions in the houses. Russian forces were mostly pushed out of the village to the nearby forests, but they retain positions in the small residential area south of the tributary of the Sudzha River. For the most part, the edges of the village remain in the grey zone where both sides regularly operate.

Russian infantry are now on the offensive again, attempting to retake the village by attacking in small groups, however for now, Ukrainian forces appear to have repelled the attacks, despite some claims by Russian sources that they had entered Zamoste to the north.

+ ~3.90km² in favour of Ukraine.

Regarding the bombing of the boarding school in Sudzha.

I pieced together the reports from different sources and we can see that both claims by Russian and Ukrainian sources line up.

Russian sources and the Russian MoD claim that Ukraine hit the school. HIMARS were recorded being launched from Sumy Oblast at 4:55am NZT, but due to the lack of available information from Sudzha, there were no reports of explosions in the town. However, a channel originally from Sudzha reported that "bad news was coming" from the town approximately 1 hour 36 minutes after the HIMARS launches. Given the delay in information from Sudzha, it is plausible that this is what happened.

On the other hand, Ukrainian sources and the Ukrainian MOD claim that Russia hit the school. Sudzha district was reported under aeriel bombardment from glide bombs 1 minute before the missile launches, contradicting claims by Russian channels that there were no Russian aircraft airborne at the time.

It is important to keep in mind that both Russian and Ukrainian channels could have been instructed to say certain things at certain times to line up with the narrative of their respective sides.

In conclusion, without direct reports from residents in Sudzha, it is basically impossible to tell who did it. Both sides could have done it as a false flag attack. If I see any important information released, I will let you all know.

Footage of the U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State targets in the Calmiskaad mountains, in northern Somalia was declassified. The strikes targeted around 10 locations, most of them being caves.

Puntland, who is currently conducting a ground offensive on these IS strongholds, released a statement thanking the US and the UAE for participating in the airstrikes. Senior Islamic State members were reportedly killed, with no reports of civilian casualties.

M23 rebels driving a captured T-55 tank through the streets of Goma, Eastern DR Congo.

The Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank has expanded to the town of Tamoun.

They are also operating in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, as well as the town of Qabatiya.

According to Israeli media, 3 brigades are now taking part in the offensive.

Explosions in Sumy. Iskander-M missile strike.

Ukrainian Su-24s/MiG-29s are approaching their launch lines. There is a threat of storm shadow cruise missile launches for Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk and Oryol Oblasts.

Traffic on the Kerch Bridge has been blocked.

Map of approximate locations of explosions reported in Ukraine from February 1-2, 2025.

Notable events:
Iskander-M missile strike on Balakliya, Kharkiv Oblast
Decrease in Geran-2 activity country-wide
Decrease in Glide bomb activity front-wide
Decrease in MLRS activity front-wide.

This map does not include artillery shelling and FPV drone related explosions.

The missile threats for Russia and Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine has been lifted.

Explosions were reported in Skadovsk, Russian-controlled Kherson Oblast. The cause is currently unknown.

Russian forces have reportedly advanced into the first houses of Sribne in the southeast of the village, after an unsuccessful attempt to attack there around 5 days ago.

They also reportedly advanced up a treeline to the east of the village.

Russian forces have reportedly advanced south of Yasenove, capturing three more treelines near the Pokrovsk - Andriivka highway.

Russian forces are reportedly continuing to advance in Andriivka, capturing most of the eastern part of the village.

Ukraine apparently only maintains a presence in the southern street near the Orlova river where they are at a significant risk of being cut off.

A Russian Geran-2 drone struck an oil depot in Sumy Oblast.

Russian forces have reportedly advanced again in Dachne, taking several houses west of the sports centre, and advanced by another street to the north.

However, after a short lull, Ukrainian drone activity has picked up again, making it difficult for Russian forces to even approach the village.