Breaking news tells you what happened. Vigil connects it to the map, the actors, the forces, the history and the economic consequences — so you can understand why it matters and what to watch next.
A second nationwide attack wave hits five towns from the Algerian border to Bamako's approaches; the FLA and JNIM besiege Anéfis for six days, ambush a Malian–Africa Corps relief convoy and down an Mi-24 before the army retakes the town at a stated cost of about 30 soldiers; Russia and the AES states pledge deeper military cooperation at Niamey; and Mali and Algeria restore ambassadors and reopen their airspace after fifteen months.
Each item carries its own reporting window, sources and confidence grade.
Read the full briefWhat changed and why it matters — verified briefs with sources and confidence.
Where events and strategic systems sit on the ground.
Who the principal actors are, and how they align.
How forces, formations and equipment connect.
How the war transmits through trade, energy, industry and sanctions.
Ukraine–Russia is updated weekly. Mali is updated when major developments are verified. Baseline reference pages are reviewed progressively — which is why the latest brief can come from either module.
Vigil currently covers 2 published conflict modules: Ukraine–Russia in Eastern Europe; Mali in Sahel / West Africa. Full details in the coverage cards below.
Coverage orientation only — markers are approximate regional anchors for published modules, not conflict extents or current activity.
The largest interstate war in Europe since 1945, now an attritional contest of industrial capacity, manpower, and political endurance. Its outcome will set the price of territorial aggression for a generation — which is why capitals far from Kyiv treat it as a referendum on their own security.
Mali is an overlapping conflict system, not a two-sided war: jihadist insurgency, Azawad separatism, military rule, foreign security partnerships, regional competition, humanitarian crisis and economic stress, all running at once. There is no clean front line — the state holds the cities while the roads between them are contested by its enemies, and in 2026 both the north and the capital's approaches came under pressure at the same time.
Each module is a guided path through one conflict — its map, history, actors, forces and economics, cross-linked and sourced. Each opens with its own reading order.
Map key events actors Force Atlas economy latest weekly brief
Follow the conventional war, occupation, long-range strike campaign, force structure, equipment, and economic exposure.
Start with Ukraine–RussiaMap historical phases factions corridors and locations humanitarian/economy latest developments
Understand Mali as an overlapping conflict system shaped by insurgency, separatism, military rule, foreign security partnerships, corridors, gold, and humanitarian pressure.
Start with MaliUnsure how to read our confidence grades, dates and sourcing? Start with the methodology.
Vigil does not try to win the breaking-news race. It prioritises verified, dated, cross-linked information; explicit uncertainty; transparent corrections; and broad, non-operational context. When reliable information is not available, Vigil says so.