Russia’s sanctioned propaganda network Rybar freely roamed Schengen zone to shoot manipulative content

The Rybar propaganda network, a covert Russian operation, freely traversed the Schengen Zone, disseminating manipulative content across multiple European nations, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD). The group's founder, Mykhailo Zvinchuk, faces EU and UK sanctions due to Rybar's involvement with Vladimir Putin's working group aimed at coordinating Russia's mobilization efforts during the Ukraine conflict.

Despite years of sanctions, Rybar operatives managed to blend in seamlessly within the Schengen Area, exploiting residence permits for EU countries, primarily Germany. They assumed the guise of documentarians, traveling to Prague under the false pretense of filming a documentary series on Europe's sociopolitical landscape. Upon confronting the film crew, Seznam Zprávy journalists discovered Rybar's true intentions and forced them to flee.

Boris Dvorkin, a producer based in Moscow, orchestrated this operation, which also received funding from the History of the Fatherland Foundation, a Putin-backed entity led by Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The CCD reported that similar filming operations were either planned or executed in Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, France, and other European countries.

In December 2025, the UK sanctioned Rybar and Zvinchuk for their interference in Moldova and Armenia's elections, adding ten more Rybar staff members in July 2026 for destabilizing Ukraine's situation. The US State Department even offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Zvinchuk's capture and those of eight others connected to the project.