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, October 2026
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: ISW (31 Oct assessment), Reuters
Schematic — not precise cartography. Pokrovsk and Dobropillya remain the main-effort axis, with small Russian gains southeast of Dobropillya in October and no advances at Lyman or east of Slovyansk on Oct 30–31. In Kherson oblast, the Oleshky local ceasefire of Oct 27–31 — the longest since 2022 — let residents evacuate to Ukrainian-held ground. Read the explainer
Situation map
Gaza & the West Bank: the “ceasefire” map
Situation as of 29 October 2026 · Sources: UN OCHA (15 & 29 Oct reports), UN News
Schematic — not precise cartography. The Yellow Line keeps moving: markers shifted west near Ash Shuja'iyyeh on Oct 11 and new blocks appeared in Deir al Balah, while strikes continued across Gaza. In the West Bank, October recorded 397 settler attacks — the highest month since UN records began in 2006. Read the explainer
Situation map
Lebanon & Syria: the northern front
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: AP reporting on UNIFIL exit, EU Council (12 Oct), CIS Lebanon Security Index (23 Oct), Levant24 (21 Oct)
Schematic — not precise cartography. UNIFIL's 7,565 troops depart by Dec 31, 2026 and the US says the mission will not be maintained in its current form; Tampa talks resumed Oct 20 and the EU approved a Lebanese Army training mission that is not a UNIFIL replacement. In Syria, Israeli incursions in Quneitra and Daraa continued and Suwayda's National Guard reportedly struck a government post on Oct 21. Read the explainer
Situation map
Sudan: a formalized split
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: UN Fact-Finding Mission (28 Oct), Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Jazeera (1 Oct)
Schematic — not precise cartography. SAF holds the north, east and center; the RSF holds Darfur; Kordofan and Blue Nile are the active seams. In October SAF retook al-Mazroub northwest of El Obeid, UN investigators reported a record month of drone attacks on civilians and a supply network spanning Chad, Puntland, Libya and the UAE behind the RSF. Read the explainer
Situation map
The Sahel: record violence, April's turning point
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: Soufan Center (28 Oct), AFP via Africanews (16 Oct), ACLED reporting
Schematic — not precise cartography. April's coordinated strikes on Bamako marked the turning point. In October, Malian and Africa Corps forces re-entered Kidal on Oct 6 without a fight after the FLA withdrew, while the JNIM–IS-Sahel turf war escalated into a major Oct 9 battle in Burkina Faso's Oudalan province — IS-Sahel's claim of 400+ JNIM killed is unverified. Read the explainer
Situation map
Eastern DRC: two fronts, stalled diplomacy
Situation as of 28 October 2026 · Sources: CTP (28 Oct review), Reuters (12 Oct)
Schematic — not precise cartography. On Oct 12 the AFC/M23 rebellion rebranded as the FRN with former president Joseph Kabila as political leader — CTP assesses a rebrand, not a new force. October's heaviest fighting ran through the Walungu highlands and Ruzizi foothills with no significant ground change, and on Oct 28 the US sanctioned Rwanda's defence ministry over FRN support. Read the explainer
Situation map
Myanmar: the junta keeps shrinking
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: The Irrawaddy (28 Oct), Myanmar Defense & Security Institute via Than Lwin Times, Western News
Schematic — not precise cartography. The junta's firm control has fallen to 21–33% of the country while the resistance holds ~42%. September was the worst month yet for the air war — 175 strikes and 650 bombs by MDSI's count — and in October the Arakan Army tightened around Sittwe, clearing junta landings on Ngapyi Island. Read the explainer
Situation map
Yemen: the fight for the Red Sea coast
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: Reuters (5–6 Oct), UN OCHA, IOM
Schematic — not precise cartography. September's Houthi blitz took the entire Red Sea coastline — then October partly reversed it: government forces retook Mokha and the Dhubab airstrip on Oct 5–6, per Reuters, though the Houthis deny the claims and the full extent is unverified, so the southern coast and strait islands are now marked contested. Around Taiz, Houthis gained sections of a mountain road. Read the explainer
Situation map
Somalia: the AU draws down
Situation as of 31 October 2026 · Sources: AFRICOM (Oct), The EastAfrican reporting, Daily Star Uganda (29 Oct)
Schematic — not precise cartography. AUSSOM winds down with UNSC Res. 2809 keeping 11,826 troops through Dec 31, 2026, and UNTMIS closed on Oct 31. On Oct 29 Uganda announced it had begun withdrawing after 19 years, and Mogadishu asked it to delay in Lower Shabelle. AFRICOM had logged 88 strikes in Somalia in 2026 by Oct 17. 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 →
