Mikhail Zvinchuk, 35 according to France 24, was detained on Friday, 9 October 2026, with his wife and other Russian nationals, with accounts of the number of others ranging from three to five.
Montenegro's interior ministry ordered the expulsion of five Russian nationals on national security grounds, hours after the arrest, without saying where they would be sent.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic confirmed the detention on X, citing warnings of attempts to destabilize Montenegro through hybrid activities.
The US State Department offered up to $10 million in October 2024 for information on 19 people managing Rybar-led channels, and the EU has sanctioned Zvinchuk.
Peskov said Russian diplomats will help protect the detainees' rights, and Medvedev suggested Russia could detain European and American citizens in return.
Montenegro's police directorate and National Security Agency detained Mikhail Zvinchuk, founder of the Russian Telegram channel Rybar, in Risan on Friday, 9 October 2026. Rybar said Zvinchuk and the others had entered the country legally and officially and had planned to film the Cetinje Monastery after submitting an official request. France 24 reports that his wife was among those arrested and gives Zvinchuk's age as 35. Accounts differ on the number detained: AP reports his wife and three others, France 24 counts five Russian nationals, and ANSA describes five other Russian citizens alongside Zvinchuk. Police said they seized a drone, a camera, a GoPro, high-resolution equipment and several mobile phones.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic confirmed the detention on X. He linked it to earlier warnings that Montenegro could face attempts to destabilize it through hybrid activities, acts that fall short of direct military conflict according to Reuters.
“our institutions are doing their job, Montenegro is protecting its interests, and no one will jeopardize our European future.”
The interior ministry ordered the expulsion of all five on national and internal security grounds, hours after the arrest. The five had entered Montenegro less than two days earlier and were staying at a hotel in Risan. Authorities did not say where they would be sent. The ministry described Zvinchuk as "leader and member of the Russian political-hybrid network Rybar."
Police had not commented on the allegations when AP reported the arrest. Reuters, citing Pobjeda, reported that the charges concern spreading "Russian influence." According to France 24, Vijesti reported that the group planned a documentary that would have had "negative consequences for tourism, economic stability and Montenegro's national interests." AP reports that Zvinchuk previously served in the Russian Defense Ministry's press office and that Rybar has more than 1.5 million followers. The United States wants him for alleged election interference and offered up to $10 million in October 2024 for information on 19 people managing Rybar-led channels. He is sanctioned by the European Union, and AP reports he posted a video saying he entered Montenegro despite those sanctions, blaming a negligent border guard.
Montenegro has long had fraught relations with Moscow. In 2016 authorities accused Russia of plotting a coup with Serbian ultranationalists, a charge the Kremlin denied. Montenegro joined NATO in 2017, and Moscow later declared it an enemy state after it enforced sanctions in 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian diplomats will determine the reason for the arrests and help protect the detainees' rights. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Russian Embassy in Montenegro is looking into the case. Former president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Security Council, wrote on the Max platform that Russia would likely have to trade for its own people with "idiots" from Europe and the United States.
“Neither visas, nor invitations, nor other guarantees are worth anything. Anyone can be arrested, especially if they tell the truth about Western countries, the EU and the neo-Nazi Bandera regime.”
Rybar said it expects all detainees to be released.
“Since no local laws were broken, we are awaiting the release of all those detained.”
Montenegro will require visas for Russian citizens starting 1 November, AP reports. Thousands of Russians have moved to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. France 24 gives Montenegro's population as 620,000 and AP as about 630,000, and the country aims to complete EU accession talks by the end of the year.
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Zvinchuk was held in the coastal town of Risan with his wife and other Russian nationals, and Montenegro's interior ministry ordered all five expelled on national security grounds.
AI text based on reports by France 24, TVN24, G4Media.ro and other publishers. Changed .