Information Warfare — 2026-09-26

Czech Republic Expels Russian Rybar Propaganda Operatives After Journalists Expose European Influence Operation

BLUFSchengen residence permits effectively neutralize EU sanctions against Russian propaganda networks, leaving enforcement to investigative journalists rather than member-state security services.

Czech outlet Seznam Zprávy lured two Rybar operatives, identified as Vitaly Chashchukhin and cameraman Igor Dolmatov, to a staged interview in Prague under the pretext of filming Czech disinformation expert Bohumil Kartous, then confronted them on hidden camera 1Meduza" data-url="https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/21/czech-journalists-expose-europe-based-staff-of-rybar-a-pro-war-russian-telegram-channel" data-rt="secondary" data-mbfc="high" data-otype="digital_news">2. Czech police questioned Chashchukhin for roughly nine hours and ordered both men to leave the country within three days as undesirable persons; both told police they worked for EU-sanctioned outlet Izvestia 13. Chashchukhin, an EU resident of about ten years, returned to Germany, and Czech authorities have passed information on his activities to German counterparts, though a German customs spokesman said any sanctions-violation assessment would be case-by-case 13. Seznam Zprávy identified Moscow-based producer Boris Dvorkin, previously unlinked to Rybar, and reported the network had sought interviews with seven Czech figures and had planned or conducted similar filming in Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Hungary, Belgium and France 245.

Analysis
The expulsions expose how easily EU-sanctioned propagandists operate inside Schengen on ordinary residence permits, undercutting the practical force of sanctions designations against Rybar and its founder. Chashchukhin's decade-long German residency and parallel work for multiple sanctioned outlets shows enforcement has rested on media exposure rather than proactive vetting by member-state authorities, and reporting rests entirely on Seznam Zprávy's single investigation, with other outlets republishing rather than independently corroborating. Germany's noncommittal customs response signals prosecutors may decline a sanctions case absent a clearer statutory trigger, leaving Chashchukhin free to continue similar work from Berlin. This may instead be a discrete counterintelligence success against one exposed crew rather than a systemic gap, since police acted only once journalists tipped them off, and the network's parallel outreach across seven countries means the Prague exposure alone will not halt Rybar's broader European filming campaign.

6 sources