A sanctioned Russian propaganda network has been producing European coverage from Berlin

Two contributors to the Russian pro-war Telegram network Rybar have lived in Berlin for years while travelling across Europe to record material, according to CORRECTIV and iStories. Reporter Vitaly Chashchukhin and cameraman Igor Dolmatov were identified after Rybar requested an interview with a Czech media-literacy expert. Czech journalists confronted the crew at the planned meeting in Prague; police later ordered the two men to leave the country.

Chashchukhin reportedly acknowledged working for Rybar before the journalists identified themselves. Both men told Czech authorities that they worked for the Russian publishing group Izvestia. Records examined by the newsrooms place Chashchukhin in Berlin since at least 2014 and Dolmatov there for at least eight years, including work connected to Izvestia’s correspondent bureau. Neither responded before publication; Berlin immigration authorities declined to discuss their status.

Rybar presents itself as a military-analysis centre and reaches roughly 1.5mn Telegram subscribers, with smaller regional channels in Africa and Europe. Its founder, Mikhail Zvinchuk, has been under EU sanctions since 2023 for propaganda supporting Russia’s war and participation in a Kremlin mobilization group. The EU sanctioned Izvestia in 2024. The United States has offered up to $10mn for information about Rybar personnel and says the operation receives money from state defence conglomerate Rostec.

The investigation does not by itself establish that the Berlin-based men violated sanctions law; working for a sanctioned entity, receiving funds and providing journalistic services can engage different legal tests. It does reveal an enforcement seam. Sanctions can freeze named organizations while their production work continues through residents, correspondent offices and ordinary travel inside Europe. Authorities now have a specific question: who employed and paid the crew, under what contracts, and whether those relationships provided services or funds to sanctioned actors.