Ukrainian artillery shelling continues to target in and around Horlivka.

Ukrainian MLRS launches towards Horlivka

The Lebanese Armed Forces raided an apartment in the town of Sidon, southern Lebanon, where they uncovered and seized rockets and rocket launchers which were going to be used on Israel. The people in the apartment were subsequently arrested.

An Israeli drone strike targeted a car in the town of Al-Kawthariyah, southern Lebanon in an assassination attack.

Report state that one person was killed and another injured.

Smoke is rising over the Kalininskyi district of Donetsk City after a reported Ukrainian attack. Russian S-300 air defence systems were active over the city.

In the Lyman direction, Russian forces are continuing their advance and have entered a new village.

Prior to the easter truce, Russian forces pushed southwest from their positions south of the village of Katerynivka, capturing a treeline, the rest of a forest and a trench stronghold. They then advanced west from Katernivka, capturing a forest and further treeline positions, and got behind the village of Nove.

From there, Russian forces pushed southwest into Nove and entered its northern houses, while also pushing into the eastern houses. In addition to this, they captured two more treelines and reached the edge of the village of Ridkodub.

All of these newly captured positions are on the tactical heights.

+ ~5.81km² in favour of Russia.

In the Borova direction, Russian forces recently made a small advance, capturing treeline positions.

Following a series of Ukrainian counterattacks, and prior to the easter truce, Russian forces began advancing again. They moved down two treelines from the east and north, capturing positions in them and reaching the intersection between the two. The grey zone now extends west towards the reservoir.

+ ~1.57km² in favour of Russia.

In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces advanced and captured new positions southwest of the village of Zapadne.

Prior to the easter truce, Russian forces advanced from positions near the R-79 highway and entered two forest plantations to the west, taking up new positions there. Additionally, Russian forces established control over most of this middle section of the highway.

+ ~2.77km² in favour of Russia.

A Russian reconnaissance drone is active over Kupyansk district, Kharkiv Oblast

In southern Myanmar near the border with Thailand, Karen National Union (KNU) rebels captured a State Administrative Council (government) military camp known as the Htee Khee Strategic Camp.

Fighting had been ongoing for this camp and the adjacent village for nine days.

In western Zaporizhzhia Oblast it is largely silent. One artillery shell was fired by Ukraine in the direction of Pyatykhatky. Reconnaissance drones are flying on both sides.

The Al-Qassam Brigades (armed wing of Hamas) released two statements regarding the "security incident" in the Al-Tuffah district of Gaza City that Israeli and Palestinian media was reporting on yesterday.

They stated that in the Jabal al-Surani area, eastern al-Tuffah district, eastern Gaza City, their fighters targeted an Israeli Merkava-4 tank and a D9 military bulldozer with two Al-Yassin 105 Anti-tank missiles, setting them on fire. It was also stated that a "complex ambush" was carried out against an Israeli infantry force in the same district, killing and wounding its members.

The so-called easter truce has been ongoing for ten hours, so here's a report on the main activity that has occurred on the frontlines. (Note: most of this information is unconfirmed, but still likely)

Bryansk - Chernihiv:
A Ukrainian Baba Yaga drone was recorded over Starodubsky district, Bryansk Oblast.

Kursk-Sumy:
Russian MLRS reportedly targeted Myropillya and Krasnopillya. Nothing could be heard from Sumy City.

Ukrainian artillery worked near Gornal

A Russian reconnaissance drone operated between Okhtyrka and Kyrykivka.

Kharkiv-Belgorod Oblast:
Ukrainian MLRS shelling reportedly targeted the border areas of Belgorod Oblast.

Ukrainian artillery shelling targeted the city of Shebekino, Belgorod oblast.

Ukrainian FPV drones targeted Russian positions near Demidovka and Popivka, as well as other targets in the rear.

Russian reconnaissance drones operated near Vysokaya Yaruga and Velykyi Burluk.

A Ukrainian Baba Yaga drone was recorded over Dolgoe.

Russian and Ukrainian FPV drones flew over Vovchansk.

Kharkiv-Luhansk:
Ukrainian 120mm artillery shells targeted Yampolivka.

Donetsk Oblast:
A Ukrainian FPV drone chased a car in Horlivka

Ukrainian FPV and Baba Yaga drones were active near Shevchenko, Pushkine, Novoyelyzavetivka, Pustynka, Selydove, Uspenivka and Prohres.

A Russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone operated near Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian artillery targeted a treeline in the Lysivka areas.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast:
Mutual artillery shelling was reported, presumably in the eastern areas of the frontline.

Every now and then a Ukrainian FPV drone flew behind forward Russian positions in the Scherbaky - Mala Shcherbaky area.

Russian air defence reportedly shot down Ukrainian drones over Dniprorudne.

Kherson Oblast:
Mutual FPV drone strikes, including drone-dropped grenades continued on positions on both sides of the Dnipro River.

This may look like a lot of activity, but it is a drastic decrease compared to before the truce. Most areas of the frontline are largely silent.

A Russian Su-57 is conducting patrols/reconnaissance to the northeast of Ukraine, however it poses no threat.

No MLRS can be heard from Sumy, which probably means that unless the launches are in an unusual place to the south or north, the information was fake.

As a part of the so-called easter truce, a prisoner of war exchange has taken place, which was mediated by the United Arab Emirates. 246 Ukrainian servicemen were swapped for 246 Russian servicemen.

Additionally, 31 wounded Ukrainian POWs and 15 wounded Russian POWs have been exchanged in what the Russian Ministry of Defence calls a "gesture of goodwill".

Ukrainian channels claim that Russian MLRS is active along the frontlines in Sumy and Donetsk Oblast. Its possible that this is delayed information.

4 minutes after the beginning of the truce, no regions of Ukraine are under an air raid alert.

The air raid alert was lifted in Kyiv City and Kyiv Oblast, but remains Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Once again, there is no threat to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The Su-34/35s flew away from Donetsk Oblast.

The easter truce has now begun.

Well, it should.

Sirens are also still sounding in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, despite there being no threat from aviation anymore

The reconnaissance drone was shot down, but sirens are still sounding in Kyiv

Reconnaissance and FPV drones are still being recorded over Kherson City 8 minutes before the truce.

Kyiv remains under an air raid alert due to the activity of a Russian reconnaissance drone which is circling between Brovary and Kyiv City.

Zelensky claims that this is a Geran-2 drone.

12 minutes until the easter truce takes hold.

Glide-bombs just impacted Izyum district, Kharkiv Oblast, however Russian Su-34/35s are returning to their home air bases.

A Russian reconnaissance drone is hovering over the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv (very odd). Ukrainian air defence has made multiple attempts to shoot it down.

Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts are under an air raid alert due to Russian Su-34/35 activity over Donetsk Oblast.

Ukrainian tactical aircraft returned to their home bases.

Putin has declared a 30-hour "Easter truce" in Ukraine. He stated that Russia will halt all combat operations from 18:00 on April 19 until midnight April 21. However, he emphasised that Russian forces will be ready to take defensive measures and repel any Ukrainian attacks.

This truce is expected to take hold in just over an hour.

The Houthis announced shooting down another U.S. MQ-9 "Reaper" drone over Sana'a governorate, Yemen. If true, this is the second in 24 hours.

— ❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: Iran-US indirect talks in Rome have ended as planned, sources say the atmosphere was 'positive' once again

@Middle_East_Spectator

An Israeli airstrike targeted the neighbourhood where the ambush and subsequent clashes took place. Artillery fire and quadcopter attacks are also reported in the same area.

Helicopters are also active in the area.

This is what was posted by the Sumy Oblast Military Administration. Naturally the impact site was off camera (to the right).

Here's the footage of the Geran-2 drone strike on that carpark in Sumy last Monday which I geolocated. It turns out that it targeted trucks, likely loaded with supplies for the AFU.

Israeli media is now reporting that an officer was killed and five other soldiers have been injured.

We will probably see a statement from the Al-Qassam Brigades in the coming hours.

Unconfirmed reports of one Israeli soldier being killed by Hamas fighters in the ambush.

Reports state that five Israeli Air Force helicopters have landed at two different hospitals, carrying wounded Israeli soldiers from the clashes in Gaza City.

The incident occurred in the Al-Tuffah district of Gaza City. According to Israeli sources, and Israeli tank was targeted with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and then targeted by an Anti-Tank guided missile (ATGM). One Israeli soldier is known to be in critical condition.

Meanwhile, clashes are ongoing in the Al-Tuffah district between Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers.

Russian Geran-2 drones attacked Slovyansk last night. This video shows one the impacts.

Benin currently employs 4,300 active army personnel, meaning that if these claims are true, roughly 1.63% of Benin's army was just eliminated.

🏳️❌🇧🇯 — 70 Beninese soldiers killed by JNIM in the largest attack in Benin's history.

➡️ On the 17th of April, 2-3 barracks belonging to the Beninese military were raided by JNIM militants in a coordinated assault, in Wada and Koudou, Alibori region in northern Benin.

➡️JNIM claimed the attacks resulted in the killing of 70 soldiers, the capture of 78 assault rifles, 3 drones 22 PK(M) machine guns, mortars, RPGs and more.

According to War Noir:
Militants captured #USA-made 🇺🇸 M2HB machine gun, Drones, #China-made 🇨🇳 PP87 mortars, Type 69 RPG Launchers, T69-1 Anti-Tank projectiles, RAP (Rocket Assisted) mortar bombs, Type 80 machine guns , W-85 machine guns, Type 81-1 rifles, Type 56-1 rifles etc...

Israeli media reports that a "serious security incident" took place in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli military helicopter was seen flying from Gaza, carrying wounded Israeli soldiers.

Russian forces have captured the village of Preobrazhenka, Novopavlivka direction, Donetsk Oblast.

Pre-war population: <25

The third stage of the Puntland Defence Forces (PDF) offensive against IS-Somalia (Islamic State) in the Bari mountains of northern Somalia has entered its second day.

The Puntland Counterterrorism unit claimed that their forces have cleared most of the IS-Somal positions in the Miraale valley (circled in yellow), and killed several IS-Somal militants, including some who attempted a suicide attack.

Base map by x.com/AAGA_CAWLAN101

⚡️🇮🇷🇺🇸🇮🇹 Before the talks got underway, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani in the Italian capital.

@wfwitness

Russian Kh-38 missile strike on a bridge used by the AFU for logistics over the Oskil River, near the village of Horokhovatka, Kharkiv Oblast.

The second round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran, regarding Iran's nuclear program have begun at the Omani embassy in Rome.

New footage shows a Russian Geran-2 drone approaching and impacting a target in Sumy Oblast.

This was from a previous attack, and not the one last night.

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- "Israeli officials remain committed to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and demand the complete dismantling of its nuclear program in any future negotiations." - Reuters.

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- "Israel has not ruled out a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, despite U.S. President Donald Trump informing Prime Minister Netanyahu that Washington currently won’t support such action." - Reuters.

One of the Gerans that attacked Zaporizhzhia City impacted what appears to be an industrial enterprise.

For the first time since 2022, Russian artillery has hit the outskirts of Sumy City.

Three Russian geran-2 drones attacked Zaporizhzhia city last night. At least one impact was recorded, with a large fire breaking out at the impact site.

Russian Fiber Optic drones continue to just fly under the Ukrainian drone nets (which are supposed to cover logistical routes) to strike their targets.

Videos from Sumy Oblast.

The Houthis have released footage of their air defences shooting down an American MQ-9 "Reaper" drone over the Sana'a governorate of Yemen, as well as of the debris on the ground following the interception.

Consequences of a Russian glide-bomb strike on a village in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv Oblast. It seems to have impacted one of the houses directly, while causing major damage to the surrounding buildings.

Here's a screenshot of aerial footage from Vovchansk with the frontlines overlayed to give you a sense of what the fighting looks like here.

Update from Sudan: North Kordofan State - El-Obeid direction.

A few days ago, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched a new operation aimed at linking up with their forces in the South Kordofan state to the southwest and to protect the southern flank of the spearhead towards the previously besieged city of El-Obeid.

The SAF advanced in multiple directions, seizing towns and villages as they went. The settlements of Al Muraykib, Amara, Umm Arada, Joku, An Nur, Umm Bishar among many others were captured. They pushed down the El-Obeid - Dilling highway, as well as towards the town of As Salamat, threatening the encirclement of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters in the Bashamah area.

+ ~2,238km² in favour of the SAF.

Update from Sudan: Khartoum state - Omdurman direction.

Over the past five days, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have continued their offensive on the remnants of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) garrison in the city of Omdurman. As I outlined in the previous post, the SAF is conducting an outflanking maneuver to limit their losses in urban warfare where they would have to push west from the city centre to clear the remaining suburbs.

The SAF pushed southwest, completing the capture of the town of Ombada, and pushed to the neighbouring hamlets to the south, southwest and west. They also advanced south to the town of Al-Sani and entered the westernmost suburbs of Omdurman. This resulted in an RSF retreat from their positions in the northwestern suburbs of Omdurman. The RSF may now try to mount a final defence in the southwestern suburbs and the nearby city of Salha.

+ ~359km² in favour of the SAF

Puntland forces have renewed their offensive operations against IS-Somalia (Islamic state) positions in the Miraale area in the Bari mountains of northern Somalia.

Under the cover of U.S. and UAE airstrikes, Puntland forces pushed towards IS-Somal positions, where heavy fighting ensued with the militants. Reports state that several officers and a colonel have been killed in the battles. It is unclear if any progress has been made.

IS-Somal militants are holding positions in caves and in the mountains tops, resulting in heavy casualties among Puntland forces.

Fighting has been ongoing in the Bari mountains with no progress for the past 32 days.

Base map by x.com/AAGA_CAWLAN101

Iranian and American delegations, including the foreign minister of Iran Abbas Araghchi, will arrive in Rome soon for the second round of indirect nuclear talks, arranged with the help of Oman. The talks will take place tomorrow at the Omani embassy to Italy.

Reuters, citing senior Iranian officials, said that Iran is unlikely to commit to any nuclear agreement, even if it were to be temporary, without Guarantees that the US will not abandon the deal including under future leadership.

Additionally, Axios, citing three Israeli sources, reported that the Israeli minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, and Mossad Director David Barnea held a "low-profile" meeting with American officials in Paris in an attempt to "influence the U.S. position ahead of the second round of talks in Rome".

A Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft launched a precision strike with an AASM HAMMER guided bomb on a bridge used by Russian forces for logistics in Bryansk Oblast.

The U.S. has begun withdrawing from the Al-Hasakah Governorate of northeastern Syria, into Iraq.

🇮🇷 Wali Mohammad Shahbakhsh; a commander belonging to the Jaish al-Adl terrorist group was killed in a operation led by Iranian IRGC ground forces in the region of Sistan and Baluchistan.

Jaish al-Adl is a Sunni Baloch organization operating in Iran south east region of Sistan and Baluchistan who’s goal is to achieve independence front Iran.

The group is notorious for a large series of terrorist attack and assassination against Iranian force in the region.

@TabZLIVE

⚡️🇺🇸🇾🇪 US aircraft carried out six air raids in the Bani Hashish area, northeast of Sanaa.

Two additional strikes hit the Al-Sama’ military camp in the Arhab district, also located northeast of Sanaa.

@wfwitness

Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile strike on a Ukrainian HIMARS MLRS near the village of Serhiivka, Donetsk Oblast.

Russian Kh-38 missile strike on a reinforced concrete bridge over the Mala Vovcha River near the village of Volokhivka, Kharkiv Oblast.

Yesterday 6 Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers were redeployed from Olenya Air Base in Murmansk Oblast to Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk Oblast (far east of Russia), and one flew from Engels-2 to Belaya.

This leaves just 8 Tu-95s at air bases close to Ukraine, including:

3 at Olenya, Murmansk Oblast
3 at Diaghilev, Ryazan Oblast
2 at Engels-2, Saratov Oblast.

The reason for this sudden movement is unknown.

The Saraya Al-Quds brigades (armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad) published footage showing them targeting Israeli forces in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza with 107mm "Fadjr-1" HE artillery rockets.

They also used a 60mm DIO HM-14 mortar with M61 HE mortar bombs.

Consequences of Russian Glide-bomb strikes on a building in the village of Osoyevka, Sumy Oblast.

Another exchange of bodies has taken place between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine returned 41 fallen Russian soldiers while Russia returned 907 fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

The Houthis also announced that they targeted the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its warships with cruise missiles and drones. If true, this is the first time it has been targeted since it arrived in the area.

The Houthis announced that they shot down an American MQ-9 “Reaper” drone that was operating in the skies of the Sana’a Governorate of Yemen.

No visual evidence has been published yet, however if true it would make it the 19th of its type to be shot down over Yemen, the 5th since trump took office and the 4th since the new widespread bombing campaign on Yemen began.

Returning to Savasleika Air Base in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. There will be no launches.

The alarm was caused by a sudden movement of the MiG from Ryazan Oblast though Lipetsk Oblast towards the border with Ukraine, however it has since done a U-turn away from the border.

All of Ukraine is under an air raid alert due to the possibility of the launch of a kinzhal hypersonic missile from a MiG-31K.

At least 58 people are reported to have been killed and over 126 other injured in U.S. airstrikes on the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeidah, western Yemen last night.

Two statements from the Al-Qassam Brigades (Armed wing of Hamas):

"After returning from the fighting lines, our Mujahideen confirmed that a Zionist force was lured near a booby-trapped tunnel spring. As soon as the force members arrived at the location and a number of soldiers went down inside, the tunnel spring was detonated with a number of explosive devices, killing and wounding a number of the force members on Wednesday afternoon in the "Qizan al-Najjar" area south of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip."

"After returning from the battle lines, our fighters confirmed the detonation of three high-explosive devices in two Zionist D9 military bulldozers on Wednesday afternoon in the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip."

The United States begins a gradual withdrawal from Syria. In the last few hours, US troops began withdrawing personnel and materiel from military bases in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa as a first phase of withdrawal from the country. However, the presence is expected to remain in Hasakah and Kobani.
After the fall of the Syrian government in December, US excuses for remaining in Syria lost their force, and a new, purely democratic phase began in which an agreement between the new authorities in Damascus and the SDF came to fruition. The first agreements in Afrin, Aleppo and Manbij reflect good dynamics for a full reintegration of Syrian territory. However, the expulsion of the Turkish-backed SNA, the return of civilians, the issue of ISIS prisoners and ‘Kurdish autonomy’ remain to be resolved. Consequently, the US will continue to maintain its (albeit reduced) presence in Syria until these issues are fully concluded.🇸🇾

Russian forces launched a series of assault operations in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and have made new progress the the Orikhiv direction.

Russian forces advanced in two main areas. In the east, 15 armoured vehicles and around 20 light vehicles including buggies, ATVs and motorcycles took part in a large scale attack towards Mala Tokmachka. Most of the vehicles were damaged or destroyed, but some soldiers managed to dismount and take up positions in the first houses of Mala Tokmachka. Additionally, Russian forces attacked north and northwest up treelines to the southwest, seizing new positions in the direction of the prison.

In the west, a diversionary attack was carried out, in which three BTR-82As participated. Two hit mines and the third was hit by an FPV drone, however infantry were able to consolidate in a stronghold and captured adjacent positions in the treelines.

+ ~9.66km² in favour of Russia.

Explosions were heard in Kramatorsk at around the same time. Its possible that a second missile was indeed launched and hit near the city.

Russian forces continued to advance on the eastern flank of Pokrovsk and have made new progress east of the village of Myrolyubivka.

Russian forces advanced west through the forest plantations, moving towards the southern part of Myrolyubivka. Additionally, they advanced north up a treeline west of the village of Yelyzavetivka, and captured two further treelines to the northwest.

Russian forces then conducted a mechanised assault towards the forest east of Myrolyubivka, resulting in the loss of some of the equipment. It is unclear if a foothold was established or not.

+ ~2.60km² in favour of Russia.

Disappeared. Probably a mis-identification.