Adversary Intelligence — 2026-09-26

Czech Republic Expels Russian Operatives Exposed Filming for Rybar Propaganda Project Across Europe

BLUFCzech expulsion without prosecution confirms that EU sanctions on Rybar constrain financing but not the physical movement or contact networks of associated operatives across Schengen.

Czech investigative outlet Seznam Zprávy lured a two-man film crew working for the sanctioned Russian Telegram project Rybar to a staged interview in Prague, then confronted them on hidden camera; both men fled the scene 1. Czech police subsequently detained and interrogated the pair, identified as Vitaly Chashchukhin, a correspondent for EU-sanctioned outlets Izvestia and RenTV, and cameraman Igor Dolmatov, for roughly nine hours before ordering them out of the country within three days 23. Seznam Zprávy identified Moscow-based producer Boris Dvorkin as organizer of the shoot and linked him to a foundation headed by SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin, and reported that similar crews had conducted or planned interviews with public figures in Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, France, and Bosnia and Herzegovina 14. Czech officials said Chashchukhin's long-held German residence permit let the crew move freely across the Schengen Area, and police shared his case with German authorities, who said any sanctions-violation evidence would be assessed case-by-case 23.

Analysis
The expulsion order reaches only the two operatives caught on camera, leaving producer Boris Dvorkin, his Naryshkin-linked funding channel, and crews reportedly active in Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, France, and Bosnia and Herzegovina untouched. It rests on a single Seznam Zprávy investigation that other outlets have repeated rather than independently verified. Chashchukhin's long-held German residence permit let the crew move freely across Schengen, and Czech police's referral to German authorities tests whether Berlin will treat that permit as cover for sanctions-evasion travel, a decision resting with German prosecutors rather than Prague. Dvorkin counters that Chashchukhin did an unpaid favor rather than a commissioned Rybar assignment, meaning no completed interview and no payment leaves no clear sanctions breach. The case shows EU sanctions on Rybar and founder Mikhail Zvinchuk constrain formal payments more than movement or contact-gathering by associated personnel, and a three-day expulsion, not prosecution, marks enforcement's practical ceiling absent a German criminal referral.

7 sources

Czech journalists lure Russian propaganda project Rybar film crew to Prague to expose influence operation across Europe - The Insider
Czech police order Russians who filmed in Europe for the pro-war Telegram channel Rybar to leave the country - Meduza
Czech Police Expel Rybar Propagandists After Nine-Hour Interrogation - Around Prague
Russian Propaganda Crew Flees Prague After Confrontation Over EU Sanctions Violations - UNITED24 Media
Russia's sanctioned propaganda network Rybar freely roamed Schengen zone to shoot manipulative content - Euromaidan Press
Odhalili jsme Putinovy propagandisty v Česku, pohybují se tu zcela volně - Seznam Zprávy
Odhalili jsme Putinovy propagandisty v Česku, pohybují se tu zcela volně - Seznam Zprávy