Mikhail Zvinchuk and four Russians expelled from Montenegro after arrests

Russian military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk and four other Russian nationals were detained and subsequently expelled from Montenegro after authorities said they suspected the group of attempts to spread influence and carry out hybrid operations aimed at destabilising the country.

The arrests took place on October 9, 2026 in the Adriatic resort town of Risan, the Montenegrin police and security services said. Authorities later issued deportation decisions for Mikhail Zvinchuk, his wife Valeriya Vladimirovna Zvinchuk (37), Sergej Romanovich Belous (35), Pavel Vladimirovich Lekatorchuk (43) and Kira Igorevna Doroshenko (21).

Police announced that "after criminal-operational and intelligence processing, it was determined that these persons cannot continue their stay in Montenegro, and in accordance with the Law on Foreigners decisions were made to expel them from Montenegro for reasons related to the national and internal security of the state." Officers reported finding sophisticated digital equipment and devices with the suspects, including high-resolution equipment, a drone, a GoPro camera and several mobile phones; these items will undergo technical examination and analysis. The Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica and the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor were notified.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic posted a statement on X on October 9, 2026 explaining the operation. He wrote: "We warned that attempts at hybrid actions and the destabilization of Montenegro relentlessly shadow our European path. This is not the moment for hasty statements, nor for naive conclusions. There are serious indications that require every lead to be carefully examined and every connection viewed in a wider context. We will not disclose what must remain within the remit of the security services. But the message after today's successful operation in which the head of the information network 'Ribar' was detained is clear: institutions are doing their job, Montenegro defends its interests and no one will jeopardize our European future."

Reactions and the detained group's version

The Telegram channel Ribar said Zvinchuk and the others had legal residence in Montenegro and that part of their planned activities included filming at the Cetinje monastery, for which they claimed an official request had been submitted. The channel denied any breach of local laws. Meanwhile the Russian embassy asked Montenegrin authorities for an explanation of the detentions and consular access to the arrested individuals, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said diplomats would protect Zvinchuk's rights.

Zvinchuk is a former public relations officer at the Russian Ministry of Defence who founded the Ribar channel in 2018; the channel has more than 1.5 million Telegram subscribers and is part of an online media ecosystem that supports Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Its output has extended beyond Ukraine, promoting Kremlin-friendly narratives in Africa and the Middle East and, more recently, amplifying far-right narratives about the migration situation in Ceuta.

Western governments have previously sanctioned Zvinchuk and his channel: the United Kingdom imposed sanctions in December 2025, accusing him of spreading Kremlin propaganda and alleging he received funding from the state defence conglomerate Rostec and cooperated with Russian intelligence services. The United States separately accused him of attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election and offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on those involved. According to media reports, Zvinchuk had recently boasted on social media that he had entered Montenegro despite western sanctions and mocked a border officer who searched his belongings but, he claimed, failed to check his name against databases.

Photo: press material from the event