‘Human safaris’ and torture basements: Experts warn of brutal reality inside occupied Ukraine
Ukrainians living under Russian occupation are facing “systematic psychological terror” including drone attacks on civilians, torture sites known as “the basement” and near-constant surveillance, according to a new analysis by a leading security researcher.
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Megan Gittoes, Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the New Lines Institute, warned that Western discussions about “land swaps” and frozen frontlines often ignore the reality faced by civilians trapped behind Russian lines.
In an article exclusively written for LBC Opinion, Ms Gittoes said occupied territories had become environments “built to make ordinary life impossible unless they submit to Moscow’s authority.”
She described reports from investigators and resistance groups of so-called “drone safaris” or “human safaris”, where civilians are deliberately targeted by military drone operators.
Videos of attacks have circulated on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels accompanied by mocking captions and threats against Ukrainians.
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One case highlighted by Ms Gittoes involved Valentyna and Valeriy Klochkov, who were reportedly killed by successive Russian drone strikes while attempting to flee occupied territory earlier this year.
“Their deaths show the impossible reality, both staying and leaving can cost your life,” she wrote.
“This served no military objective. It is murder of the innocent and a crime against humanity.”
The analysis also details allegations of arbitrary detention, phone surveillance, torture and intimidation across occupied regions.
Ms Gittoes said civilians could face violent reprisals for speaking Ukrainian publicly or even for having VPN applications installed on their phones.
She described how residents live in fear of being taken to improvised detention centres referred to as “the basement”, hidden inside garages, industrial buildings and police stations.
“The uncertainty is deliberate,” she wrote.
“Russian agents do not need to arrest everyone to control a population; they only need to ensure everyone understands what can happen to them.”
Despite this, Ukrainian resistance networks continue to operate across occupied territories and Crimea, according to the report.
Activities allegedly include intelligence gathering, sabotage operations, helping civilians escape and covertly maintaining Ukrainian identity through hidden books, flags and underground education.
One resistance member told Ms Gittoes: “You don’t have the biggest army in Europe for just a political war, people want to be Ukrainian.”
The article argues that Russia’s occupation strategy is designed not only to control territory physically but to “reshape human behaviour through fear.”
Ms Gittoes said many civilians attempting to flee occupation were primarily motivated by protecting their families, accessing medicine and escaping surveillance rather than abstract political concerns.
She concluded that many outside Ukraine still “fundamentally underestimate the scale and brutality of what life under Russian occupation entails.”