Russia’s troops now control the only land link between the Baltic states and the rest of NATO territory. Around it, they create a lethal exclusion zone — mines, rocket artillery, drones and air defenses — designed to keep anyone from pushing them off the ground they have seized.

According to the corps, Russian troops have lost about 15,000 soldiers killed and wounded over the past six months within its sector of defense. “For their so-called ‘blitzkrieg,’ the enemy is paying a high price.