Russian blogger and founder of the Rybar channel on Telegram, Mikhail Zvinchuk, returned to Russia after being expelled from Montenegro, along with his wife and three associates, for reasons of national and internal security.
Zvinchuk and his associates initially traveled from Podgorica to Belgrade. Upon arrival in Moscow, Zvinchuk told Russian media that Russian state institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic network, were involved in his release and return.
He said that the equipment confiscated during the detention in Montenegro, including cameras and a drone, has not yet been returned to him and that the Russian Embassy is assisting him in resolving this issue.
Zvinchuk and his associates were detained on Friday, October 9, in the territory of the Kotor municipality. During the raid, digital equipment, including high-resolution recording equipment, a drone, a camera, a GoPro camera, and several phones, were found and confiscated from them.
The police announced that the equipment will be subjected to expertise and analysis to determine for what purpose they were used on the territory of Montenegro. The decision to expel was taken by the Montenegrin Police for, as stated, reasons of national and internal security.
Before going to Montenegro, Zvinchuk had stayed in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radio Free Europe confirmed. There, he and his team were allegedly filming a series of documentaries about relations between Russia and the Balkans.
The Rybar channel said that the four Russian citizens “had been legally staying in Montenegro” and “had planned to film the Cetina Monastery - for which they had previously submitted an official request.” Rybar is a Russian media and information network, founded in 2018 by Zvinchuk, a former employee of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
During the war in Ukraine, Rybar became one of the most influential pro-Russian military channels on Telegram. Zvinchuk has been under European Union sanctions since 2023 for supporting Russia's war against Ukraine and spreading propaganda.
According to the EU, he is a member of a working group created by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coordinate mobilization efforts related to the war against Ukraine.
The United States and the United Kingdom have linked the Rybar network to foreign influence operations and information warfare. In 2024, the US State Department, through its Rewards for Justice program, offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on individuals associated with the Rybar project, raising suspicions that the network is involved in foreign influence operations./REL
