A Russian serviceman deserted from the “Rubikon” unit of the Russian Armed Forces after witnessing the reaction of fellow Russians to the death of a Ukrainian civilian woman. He was subsequently reassigned to an assault role but used the “I Want to Live” program to voluntarily surrender.
The “I Want to Live” project of the Coordination Headquarters of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (GUR) for Prisoner of War Affairs released a conversation with former Russian soldier Myroslav Simonov, who fled the Russian army. Simonov said he was detained in central Moscow, forced to sign a contract, and sent to fight in Ukraine. He became a UAV operator in the elite “Rubikon” unit and took part in combat missions. After a Russian drone strike killed a civilian woman in Kupyansk, he said he saw troops from Russia’s armed forces celebrate her death—prompting him to run to avoid taking part in what he called Russia’s war crimes. According to GUR, his ordeal did not end there: he was returned to the front as a rank-and-file assault trooper.
The video with Simonov’s account appeared on the “I Want to Live” YouTube channel on the evening of Feb. 15. He said he lived in Novosibirsk and worked in real estate. In August 2024, while in Moscow, he was stopped by a patrol for not having completed mandatory military service, then compelled to sign a contract with the Russian military. After two to three weeks of training, he was sent to Luhansk region and became a UAV operator. He was later moved to the “Rubikon” detachment, underwent additional training, and said he saw how the “elite unit” operated: recruits were chosen for loyalty to commanders and then pressured—even through violence—to carry out missions.
The captive said training took place at Russian military facilities in Naro-Fominsk near Moscow and in Izhevsk. He worked with Mavic and Supercam drones. During operations near Kupyansk, he said he was shocked by his comrades’ jubilation over the killing of a civilian woman and fled the unit. His plan was to reach Novosibirsk and escape to Kazakhstan. He was caught, reassigned to an assault role, and later surrendered via the “I Want to Live” program.
“One of the reasons I didn’t want to go back was this whole ‘Rubikon’ story,” the POW said. “I saw how they kill civilians. I don’t want that.”
Posts on the “Rubikon” Telegram channel most recently referenced drone activity in Sumy region, near Lyman, and in Donbas (without specifics). The overwhelming majority of February targets were Ukrainian drones, with only isolated claims of strikes on equipment. There was no public reaction to the POW interview featured by the “I Want to Live” project.
“Rubikon” is described as an elite Russian unit formed in fall 2024. Russian media reported the command provided extensive technical and manpower resources, tasking the unit with deploying various drone types, including fiber‑optic models. One of the first reported “Rubikon” operations was during a Ukrainian special operation in Russia’s Kursk region. According to Ukrainian troops and analysts, a large number of drones put Ukrainian logistics under fire control, contributing to a tactical withdrawal. In fall and winter 2025–2026, the elite operators operated between Hulyaipole and Pokrovsk, used Starlink terminals, and targeted Ukrainian military vehicles headed toward Pavlohrad. Those actions ceased after SpaceX, following a request from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, disabled Russian contraband terminals that were not on the “white list.”
