Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***RussiaRussia’s advance in Ukraine slowed down in March 2025. However, Russia made gains in retaking land in the Kursk region — Ukrainian forces now hold up to 30 percent of the estimated 500 square miles of land they originally seized in 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted that Russia’s troops held the strategic initiative along the entire contact line.U.S. officials continue their efforts to achieve a Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire agreement. During a March 18 phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin agreed to a moratorium on Russian and Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure, but that agreement has failed to deliver. On March 23–25, U.S. officials held separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, leading to an announcement that they had agreed to suspend fighting in the Black Sea. However, implementation is unclear, as Russia has conditions — insisting that Western sanctions on its agricultural exports be lifted and several of its banks be reconnected to the SWIFT payment system, a demand rejected by the European Union.Skepticism about the ability of peace talks to succeed any time soon is spreading. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently stated that he couldn’t guarantee an agreement within a specific timeframe. Trump is reportedly frustrated with Putin’s resistance to negotiations and expressed a willingness to consider imposing secondary tariffs on Russian oil.Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces and First Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov at a command post in Kursk. Image: The Kremlin via Wikimedia CommonsNorth KoreaAs many as 5,000 of the North Korean soldiers sent to help Russia in its war against Ukraine may have died, according to Britain’s defense ministry — a significant portion of the estimated 11,000 troops deployed to Russia in
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Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***RussiaRussia’s advance in Ukraine slowed down in March 2025. However, Russia made gains in retaking land in the Kursk region — Ukrainian forces now hold up to 30 percent of the estimated 500 square miles of land they originally seized in 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted that Russia’s troops held the strategic initiative along the entire contact line.U.S. officials continue their efforts to achieve a Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire agreement. During a March 18 phone call, U.S. President Donald
