The operation in Risan, on the shore of the Bay of Kotor, was carried out by Montenegro's police and the National Security Agency, according to the Montenegrin outlets Vijesti and Pobjeda, which cited sources in the security services. The action was aimed at curbing what the outlets described as the hybrid activity of a network of channels that British and US authorities link to the spread of Kremlin propaganda.
Zvinchuk's wife, Valeria, and three other people were detained alongside him, the outlets reported. No official comment has been issued, and there is no information yet on what the detainees are suspected of. Details are still being established.
Mikhail Zvinchuk is a former employee of the Russian Defense Ministry's press service and a military translator. He founded Rybar in 2018 with his colleague Denis Shchukin. The Russian-language version of the channel now has more than 1.5 million subscribers, and the English-language version nearly 80,000. The Bell reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, was involved in financing the channel.
Zvinchuk has been under European Union sanctions since June 2023. In justifying the decision, the EU Council said he is a member of a working group created by Vladimir Putin in December 2022 to coordinate Russia's mobilization efforts in connection with the war against Ukraine, and that he is involved in spreading disinformation and propaganda on behalf of the Kremlin.
In December 2025, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Rybar staff, with Mikhail and Valeria Zvinchuk placed on the list. The outlet Important Stories in 2024 identified Valeria Zvinchuk as the wife of the channel's founder and a co-owner of the project. In July 2026, the UK imposed additional sanctions on individuals linked to the organization.
In 2024, an announcement appeared on the website of the US State Department's Rewards for Justice program offering up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of individuals involved in the Rybar project. They were accused of interfering in US politics.
In late September, journalists from the Czech outlet Seznam Zprávy found that Rybar representatives work in Europe and regularly interview politicians, journalists and experts. Czech law enforcement detained and questioned Russians Vitaly Chashchukhin and Igor Dolmatov, who are linked to Rybar, and ordered them to leave the country.