Achilles commander on scaling the Russian Rubicon: There was a company – bam! – it became a battalion

One of the most combat-ready Russian unmanned systems units, the Rubicon Center, is able to scale up quickly due to human and financial resources, which Ukraine cannot afford. This was stated in a commentary to LIGA.net by the commander of the 429th separate regiment of unmanned systems "Achilles" Yuriy Fedorenko.

He is convinced that Russia's Rubicon is the enemy's response to Ukraine's "Drone Line". When Ukraine created this project and it started to work effectively, the Russians began to create Rubicon units on the basis of each grouping of their troops using a single standardized system of training, tasking, etc .

"It's obvious that when the staff scales up, they have no problem getting people. It used to be a company – bam! – it became a battalion. We can't afford that. We have to dance, ride a unicycle, juggle, hold master classes, and repeat: "Please come to us and learn how to fight effectively! We will help you, provide you with equipment. Let's defend the state together!" said Fedorenko .

Instead, he said, the enemy does this by "bribing" its population – Russian citizens are essentially "bought" to wage war against Ukraine for "oil and gas dollars.".

"In addition, a number of youth centers have been set up on the basis of United Russia, where 16- and 17-year-old boys and girls are trained as pilots. They have already trained more than 2,000. When they turn 18, they will be given money and will go to fight against Ukraine," noted the Achilles commander .

He emphasized that Rubicon's funds are a priority, getting the best, newest and most advanced equipment.

"A lot of money is being poured into them. War is math. Yes, behind the numbers are the fates of living people, the grief of families, destroyed cities, destroyed destinies. But, first and foremost, it is math and numbers. The main capital of war is people. Whoever is more capable of mobilizing high-quality troops will have an advantage," noted Fedorenko .

He added that the second important resource is money spent on advanced technology, experiments, research and development, and building innovation centers.

"So there is no demonic history in Rubicon. They have a priority in staffing with high-quality personnel – healthy, young, technically savvy and ready to perform tasks. They have a priority infusion of funds and resources. And they do not spread their forces across a number of tasks, as infantry or assault units do. They have a very narrow range of operational functions. They have to come and block a certain area," explained Fedorenko .

• A DIU officer with the call sign Azimut explained to that Ukraine and Russia have different approaches to creating unmanned systems. The aggressor state relies on creating one model and scaling it up, while Ukraine can locally produce dozens of different.
• Azimut also told LIGA.net that Russian military intelligence is behind Rubicon, and among the key people in its management are personally, Russian Defense Minister Belousov .
• Rubicon recruiters are allowed to recruit representatives from any unit.