Key details about Rubicon, a new Russian drone structure, have been revealed: its training base is geolocated at the Patriot training center near Moscow, and the unit is led by 37-year-old Colonel Sergey Budnikov from Belgorod. Previously, Rubicon operated in the shadows, focusing on disrupting logistics and suppressing Ukrainian UAVs at the front.
Key details about Rubicon, a new Russian drone structure, have been revealed: its training base is geolocated at the Patriot training center near Moscow, and the unit is led by 37-year-old Colonel Sergey Budnikov from Belgorod. Previously, Rubicon operated in the shadows, focusing on disrupting logistics and suppressing Ukrainian UAVs at the front.
Babel wrote in detail about the location and leadership of Rubicon, citing an investigation by Radio Liberty.
As investigators established, the Rubicon training center is the Patriot pavilions. The geolocation was confirmed not by the “sign on the gate”, but by the details of the interior in three different videos: signs above the bathrooms, light displays, typical columns and wall cladding, floor hatches, loudspeakers, and the layout of the corridors. Outside, there were signs of a parking lot with buggies and “loaves” carrying UAV operators. The anniversary video of the Rubicon shows inflationary obstacles for FPV training and “patriotic” stands — the same ones are exhibited in the Patriot. The set of coincidences with the plots of the Russian Ministry of Defense (2024), the video of propagandist Solovyov (02.02.2025) and the Rubicon video (01.08.2025) gave an unambiguous link to the site.
The commander was identified in a similar way. The name of Sergei Bunnikov surfaced in the gratitude of the “Brotherly Heart” foundation (07/24/2025) as “the commander of the “Rubicon”. The face is in the frames of the Solovyov story; the coincidence was additionally confirmed by family photos from his wife’s now-deleted VKontakte account. Biographical details: 61st Marine Brigade (2010–2012), 9th Artillery Brigade until 2019 (graduated as Chief of Staff), after 2022 — multiple trips to the occupied Donetsk region; he probably received the rank of colonel in the artillery.
According to the combat profile, Rubicon is not only an engineering and training structure, but also a strike structure. Since the summer of 2024, it was withdrawn "by order of the minister", and publicity appeared after the Belarusian's visit. The first confirmed strikes were Kurshchyna (October 2024), then - Kupyansky, Pokrovsky, Torets directions; from February 2025 - Kharkiv and Vugledarsky, in the summer - Donetsk region from Velyka Novoselka to Chasovoye Yar. Tactics - radar posts up to 10 km from the line, combined work of electronic warfare / electronic warfare and FPV, due to which Ukrainian groups instead of hundreds of sorties performed 10-15; a separate focus - on strikes in the deep rear and "sewing" local teams, which Rubicon trains and leaves in the area.
The central learning hub at Patriot is, first of all,:
According to the Ukrainian military, the destruction of such a hub significantly affects the inertia of the "Rubicon": it disrupts instructor rotations and course completion, complicates the setup of communications/countermeasures, and temporarily "confuses" combat communications in active areas. Even a short disruption in operator training and communications testing can reduce the intensity of strikes in the coming weeks after the destruction.
"Rubicon" was created in 2024 as a "center for promising UAVs", combining development, training and combat use. It was officially announced after Belousov's visit; the center itself claims that it has been operating since at least July 2024. The loudest "calling card" is the blocking of the logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Suzhi area. After the declassification of the base and the commander, the unit loses some of the "nebula of war", and therefore the advantage of secrecy, on which its mobility and the effect of surprise were based.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Russia is modernizing the Shaheds : if today they can be shot down by interceptor drones, then tomorrow this may change. Soon the occupiers may switch to jet drones.
