What is Intel Mapper

Intel Mapper is a live open-source-intelligence (OSINT) war map. It follows two theatres around the clock: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the wider Middle East, from the Israel–Lebanon front and Syria to Yemen, the Red Sea and the Gulf. Every marker on the map is a single, dated event: a strike, a shoot-down, a ground assault, a naval incident, a capture, or a significant political statement, placed at the most precise location the sources support.

Events are gathered from monitored Telegram channels, X accounts, official military statements (for example the Ukrainian General Staff) and mapping projects such as DeepState and the Wikipedia conflict maps. Each report is read by a language model that extracts what happened, who did it, where and when, and then passed through a chain of deterministic checks: duplicate detection across channels, geocoding against our own settlement gazetteer and OpenStreetMap, country and region consistency guards, and frontline snapping for close-combat reports.

Every event carries a confidence score and a source count. One channel claiming a strike is not the same as three independent channels plus satellite-derived thermal detections, and the map shows that difference. Uncertain locations are drawn with an orange ring instead of a hard pin. Our methodology page explains the scoring in detail.

How to use the map

Switch theatres with the buttons at the top. The layer panel lets you toggle borders and control zones, event markers, the heat-map of activity, live military flights and US bases, and the Recent changes layers that hatch every area which changed hands in the last seven days (DeepState for Ukraine, Wikipedia-derived control maps for the Middle East). Click any marker for the full report, media and sources; click a control zone for its statistics. The time slider at the bottom replays borders and the previous 24 hours of events for any day since February 2026. A daily brief for each theatre is published every evening.

Coverage areas

Ukraine. The full contact line from Kharkiv to Kherson, deep-strike campaigns on Russian refineries, air bases and logistics, and Russian drone and missile waves against Ukrainian cities, with control changes taken from DeepState.

Middle East. The Israel–Lebanon front, Syria after Assad, the West Bank and Gaza, Iraq, and Iranian activity, including strikes on shipping and Gulf infrastructure.

Yemen and the Red Sea. The Houthi–Government war, Houthi attacks on shipping, coalition strikes, and control of the Bab al-Mandab approaches, using the Wikipedia control map and verified capture reports.

Today's brief — 2026-09-22

Trump signals Iran talks as Middle East diplomacy surges; Ukraine sustains deep strikes on Russian energy

Ukrainian forces executed precision strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, targeting the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery in Samara and the Bashnefte-UNPZ refinery in Ufa on 21–22 September, with confirmed fires at primary processing units. Additionally, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian drone storage and launch facility near Tsimbulatovo in Orel Oblast, destroying at least three storage buildings. These operations represent continued deep-strike capability targeting Russian logistics and energy production. Ukraine's air defense reported destroying or suppressing 186 Russian targets during overnight attacks, facing 9,647 kamikaze drone deployments, 87 Russian airstrikes, and 2,795 artillery strikes across 248 reported combat clashes. Russian forces conducted ballistic missile strikes on Poltava's oil and gas facility, causing critical damage assessed as effectively impossible to restore. Operational intensity remained sustained at day 1672 of the invasion.

The United Nations General Assembly dominated Middle East developments, with US President Trump presenting a dual-track approach to Iran: negotiated settlement or military action. Trump condemned Iran's October 2023 attack, domestic repression, and ballistic missile capabilities while reportedly signaling willingness to meet Iranian officials if conditions permit. Secretary of State Rubio echoed openness to talks with President Pezeshkian, though no formal meeting was scheduled. Concurrently, Trump warned NATO allies that denial of base access during potential Iran conflict would trigger reconsideration of US commitments, establishing preconditions for military contingencies. Iran's Foreign Minister requested US diplomatic protection at the Assembly, suggesting heightened security concerns amid escalatory rhetoric.

Read the full Ukraine brief · Middle East brief · Archive

Latest reports

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• The Israel–Lebanon Front: Geography, Actors and Understanding Strike Reports
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