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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.***RussiaIn early September, the Russian and Belarusian militaries conducted a major military exercise, called Zapad 2025. This was the first Zapad exercise since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The exercise was notably smaller than the previous one held in 2021. While Belarusian authorities presented the decrease in size as a de-escalatory move, the reality is that the exercise was limited by Russia’s inability to generate large numbers of troops beyond those that are
