Main image by Vijesti
Montenegrin police detained Mikhail Zvinchuk, founder of the Russian pro-war media project Rybar, and four of his associates, including his wife Valeria, in the town of Risan on October 9, Vijesti reported, citing sources in the security services. According to the sources, the operation was carried out in cooperation with Montenegro's National Security Agency and aimed to disrupt the network's hybrid activities.
The newspaper Pobjeda described Zvinchuk as a colonel in Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. However, sources did not specify what Rybar's team was doing in Montenegro or what charges its members might face. According to the Russian Telegram channel Shot, Zvinchuk and the others were taken for questioning to a police station in Kotor. All five were reportedly detained at a hotel, where police discovered drones and other digital equipment in the film crew's room.
Another Russian Telegram channel, Baza, reported that Zvinchuk and his wife were being questioned in Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, and that their phones and documents had been confiscated.
According to Baza, local authorities opened a criminal investigation involving threats to national security. The channel claimed that Rybar's employees had been filming a documentary about Montenegro's European integration.
Zvinchuk is a former employee of the Russian Ministry of Defence's press service.
In 2024, the US State Department accused Rybar of interfering in American elections and fuelling political and racial divisions. Washington offered a reward of up to $10 million for information about the project's personnel. Zvinchuk is also subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom. Western governments have linked Rybar to the dissemination of Kremlin propaganda and influence operations abroad.
The project's main platform is its Telegram channel, which has more than 1.5 million subscribers. The UK government has stated that the network is partly coordinated by Vladimir Putin's administration, receives funding from the Russian state corporation Rostec and cooperates with Russian intelligence services.
London accused Zvinchuk of destabilising Ukraine and supporting activities that threaten its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
The EU's sanctions justification also stated that Zvinchuk is a member of a working group established by the Russian president to coordinate mobilisation efforts related to Russia's war against Ukraine.
