Sentence:  Even when there "aren't" any explosions going on, when you're scanning a distant compound with your sniper rifle, trying to decide which soldier would be the best one to kill first, before every enemy in a two-mile radius deduces your exact position like a vodka-drinking sextant, everything from a certain distance disappears into this weird glowing haze, like the Russians are occupying the surface of Mercury — which is beyond even the most "liberal" interpretation of <WSD>lebensraum</WSD>. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Hitherto unoccupied “living space” claimed as one's rightful domain.