In Montenegro, a Russian propagandist from Rybar, Mikhail Zvinyuchak, who was offered 10 million dollars by the United States, was detained – Center for Investigative Journalism

In Montenegro, one of the largest z-bloggers, the author of the Russian pro-war channel “Rybar” Mikhail Zvinyuchak, was detained.

This was reported by Montenegrin outlets Pobjeda and Vremje.

According to reports, Mikhail Zvinyuchak, his wife, and three other people were detained in the morning 9 October in the town of Risano.

The operation involved police and the Montenegrin National Security Agency.

According to media reports, the detained Zvinyuchak and his associates had modern digital equipment, drones, electronic devices, and phones.

Recall that in July the United Kingdom and the EU imposed sanctions on the leadership and staff of “Rybar.”

And in 2024 year, the United States announced a reward of 10 million dollars for information about this Telegram channel. The United States suspects it may be involved in attempts to influence the American elections.

It was also noted that the Russian Telegram channel aims to “bolster Russia’s military potential and promote pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives.”

Also, “Rybar” was linked to the slain head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

It is claimed that he financed the channel. Currently, funding comes from the Russian defense-industrial company Rostec, which in June 2022 year fell under sanctions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

As journalist Denis Kazansky notes, Zvinyuchak is an accomplice to quite specific war crimes – he directed Russian missiles at Ukrainian enterprises.

“In his Telegram channel, he coordinated several strikes – published the coordinates at which the Russian military attacked. As a result of these strikes, people were killed in Kyiv.

I really hope our authorities will acting quickly now and also bring forward these charges against Zvinyuchak.

Participation in war crimes, murder of people – this is no longer just propaganda. It is much more serious. Ukraine, on its side, must also demand Zvinyuchak’s extradition or pursue his trial in The Hague.

(That is how they will all eventually end up in The Hague. They will simply come to visit in order to rest in the damned Europe, which they curse in their broadcasts)”, – Kazansky writes.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed three decrees enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose sanctions on ships of the Russian shadow fleet, against enterprises and individuals associated with the Russian state corporation Rostec, and against ten propagandists who justify Russia’s aggression, among whom is his former spokesperson Yulia Mendel.