Montenegro orders Russian war blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk expelled on security grounds

Montenegrin authorities detained Mikhail Zvinchuk, founder of the pro-Kremlin military blog Rybar, and ordered him to leave the country on national security grounds, local media reported Friday.

Police and the National Security Agency detained Zvinchuk in the coastal town of Risan alongside his wife and associate, Valeria Zvinchuk, and three other Rybar staff members. Authorities said the operation was intended to halt suspected “hybrid activity” by a network linked by British and U.S. officials to Kremlin propaganda and foreign influence operations.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić confirmed Zvinchuk’s detention, saying there were serious grounds for security services to examine possible links to efforts to destabilize Montenegro. He did not disclose operational details.

Rybar said the group was legally in Montenegro and had committed no local offense. It said it was working with the Russian Foreign Ministry and expected those detained to be released. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of the case and would seek Zvinchuk’s release.

Zvinchuk, a former Russian Defense Ministry press officer, founded Rybar in 2018. The Telegram channel has more than 1.5 million subscribers and supports Russia’s war in Ukraine while sometimes criticizing its military leadership.

Zvinchuk and Rybar are subject to British and European Union sanctions. Days before his detention, Zvinchuk posted that he had entered Montenegro despite sanctions and a travel ban because a border guard failed to check a database.