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 — 2026-09-23

Iran signals military escalation at UN; Russia-Poland tensions spike amid Ukraine war

Russian airspace violations of NATO territory escalated tensions on the Poland-Kaliningrad border. A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter briefly penetrated Polish airspace near Braniewo for 42 seconds, penetrating approximately 300 meters beyond the border. Poland scrambled fighter jets and placed ground forces on high alert, treating the incident as a serious NATO concern. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov simultaneously blamed European 'deception' for Ukraine's territorial position, claiming without European interference Ukraine would have remained within 1991 borders. The helicopter incident, combined with inflammatory rhetoric, signaled potential Russian willingness to probe NATO resolve. Separately, Polish authorities discovered a sabotage attempt on railway infrastructure near Warsaw, with concrete slabs placed on fuel and logistics lines causing near-derailment of two trains—an indication of potential Russian-backed hybrid warfare activity targeting NATO logistics supporting Ukraine.

Iran's diplomatic posture shifted markedly toward potential military action on 23 September. At the UN General Assembly, President Pezeshkian delivered a combative address condemning Israel's nuclear weapons, displaying photographs of children killed in airstrikes, and criticizing international double standards. The U.S. delegation walked out during his remarks. More significantly, Iran's Security Council Secretary Rezaei declared 'Enough negotiation. Act,' signaling a potential transition from diplomatic engagement to operational measures. This rhetorical escalation follows mounting tensions over regional military incidents and reflects deepening frustration with diplomatic channels. U.S. Secretary of State Rubio simultaneously accused Iran of violating agreements and attacking neighboring states, crystallizing the confrontational diplomatic environment at the General Assembly.

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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