Sanctioned Russian propagandist present in Banja Luka during RS presidential election

While international attention focused on the low turnout and the political battle between Dodik’s SNSD party and the opposition, Detektor uncovered that Mikhail Zvinchuk, head of the Russian propaganda outlet Rybar, was in Banja Luka during and immediately after election day on November 23.

Rybar is sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, which have described it as a Kremlin-linked platform involved in disinformation and election interference worldwide.

According to sources close to security services cited by Detektor, Zvinchuk entered Bosnia and Herzegovina on election day but did not publicly disclose his presence until voting had concluded. Shortly afterwards, Rybar published a video analysis of the RS election filmed in front of the Republika Srpska government building in Banja Luka, with visual indicators confirming it was recorded during the election period.

In the video, Zvinchuk described the vote as evidence that traditional political mobilisation is losing effectiveness, pointing to record-low turnout and arguing that elections imposed “from outside” had left society unprepared. He compared the situation in Republika Srpska to protest movements driven by social media mobilisation, claiming politics is increasingly shaped by digital influence rather than institutions.

The Rybar platform also published infographics and commentary portraying the election outcome as a confirmation of Dodik’s political course and warning that pressure from Brussels and Sarajevo would now be harder to apply to the entity’s leadership.

The UK Embassy, which placed Zvinchuk under sanctions in December, warned Detektor that Rybar operates with financial backing from Russia’s state-owned defence corporation Rostec, maintains links to the Kremlin and cooperates with Russian intelligence structures.

The Ukrainian Embassy stressed that while Bosnia and Herzegovina has sovereign authority over entry decisions, visits by sanctioned individuals should be treated with heightened scrutiny and in line with international obligations.

Zvinchuk, a former Russian military translator who previously worked in Iraq and Syria, founded Rybar in 2018 with funding linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner network, according to previous investigations. He has visited Banja Luka multiple times in recent years, including in 2024 and again in May 2025, often without public explanation.

Zvinchuk did not respond to Detektor’s requests for comment on his latest visit or on whether it was linked to earlier plans to establish a Rybar-affiliated media school in Republika Srpska.