Solovyov "leaked" The Secret Unit "Rubicon": New Details
- 18.09.2025, 8:10
Journalists identified the commander.
RFE/RL journalist Mark Krutov has identified the commander and exact base of Russia's Rubicon drone unit, which is considered one of the most effective in the Russian army. It was established that the leader is Sergei Viktorovich Budnikov, and the base of the unit is located in the hangar of the Patriot Center near Moscow.
In particular, Mark Krutov published a detailed thread in X, where he described how he managed to find out the head of "Rubicon" and the location of its deployment. The journalist noted that part of the information was obtained thanks to fellow journalists Sergei Nemalevich and Yauhen Lehalau, as well as OSINT archival materials, including InformNapalm's research on the artillery unit that shelled Mariupol even before Russia's full-scale invasion.
According to Krutov, Rubikon is not an official military unit and has no publicly registered organization. The name of its head has long remained a secret, but journalists managed to find two letters of thanks from the unit to the charity organization Brotherly Heart, which mention the head - Sergei Viktorovich Budnikov.
In February 2025, Vladimir Solovyov showed the "training center" of Rubikon in his documentary on state television. He was accompanied by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Sergey Krivoruchko and the head of the Directorate of Advanced Interagency Research Evgeny Shmyrin, who is in charge of developing "weapons of the future." Some participants in the video were blurred out, but Budnikov was later identified thanks to a family photo on VKontakte.
According to the track, Budnikov is 37 years old, served in the 9th Guards Artillery Brigade and the 61st Independent Guards Marine Brigade, and took part in fighting near Mariupol in 2015. His actions are also recorded in Ukraine's "Peacemaker" database, which lists at least 19 illegal border crossings into the occupied Donetsk region in 2023.
Where the base of the Rubicon unit is located
The location of the Rubicon unit is a hangar at the Patriot Center near Moscow. The geolocation was established through analysis of Solovyov's video and the center's calendar of events, where scientific and practical training sessions of the Russian Defense Ministry's Directorate of Advanced Interagency Research and Special Projects have been recorded since September 2023.
The memo also states that Ukrainian experts assess the Rubicon as an extremely effective drone unit capable of quickly affecting limited enemy logistical targets. After the Ukrainian Luty drone attack on the Patriot Center in May 2024, the Russians began construction of a new Pantsir tower at the park, which is likely related to the unit's activities.