When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

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.***RussiaUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has finally unveiled his “victory plan” in a speech before the Ukrainian parliament. The plan was multi-pronged, including a call for Ukraine to receive an invitation to join NATO, an expansion of military aid, the elimination of restrictions on the use of Western weapons, a “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package,” economic cooperation around critical metals, and a post-war plan to have European forces on Ukrainian soil. When the plan was unveiled to Washington last month, the administration was not happy with the focus on a NATO invitation, which the United States sees largely as symbolic and doing little to facilitate victory unless, of course, the United States enters the war, which is a non-starter. The main problem for Ukraine, though, is that for the West to increase military support will require much more funding. For the United States, that hinges on the election, and any new aid package is unlikely until next year. Europe, on the other hand, has not done a European supplemental equivalent, as Berlin blocked an Estonian proposal last June in the E.U. Council to borrow for defense.Meanwhile, the war grinds on. Russia is still making gains in the east. Yet this is coming at huge costs, with the Russians potentially losing around 1,000 men a day. But Ukraine is also feeling the weight of the Russian war machine and is experiencing significant attrition as well. Both sides are short of manpower, and there are claims that North Korean troops were being sent to fight for Russia. U.S. officials have expressed skepticism, suggesting North Koreans were likely there to help Russia with the ballistic missiles it purchased. But this will