On 13 July, the UK expanded its sanctions list to include 10 Russian nationals allegedly linked to the ‘Rybár’ project. This refers to a network of Telegram channels and other online resources which presents itself as an analytical project covering armed conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and other regions, as well as the domestic politics of Western countries.
Numerous investigations have suggested that the project was previously funded by the late founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin; subsequently, as stated by the US State Department, it began receiving funds from Rostec.
The sanctions list includes Tatiana Kosterova, Olga Kuznetsova, Natalya Chebotaeva, Maxim Matveev, Evgenia Grebneva, Dalia Roslyakova, Alexander Kan, Valeria Zvinchuk and Denis Wolf. All of them are alleged to hold senior positions at ‘Rybary’. In addition, sanctions have been imposed on Alexander Minin, the head of the ‘Rybary’-linked project TEXASvsUSA.
In 2024, an announcement appeared on the US State Department’s ‘Rewards for Justice’ programme, an announcement was published offering a reward of up to 10 million dollars for information leading to the identification or location of individuals involved in the ‘Rybary’ project who have been accused of interfering in US politics. Among them were Alexander Kan, Tatiana Kosterova, Olga Kuznetsova, Maxim Matveev, Alexander Minin and Valeria Zvinchuk. The founder of ‘The Fisherman’, Mikhail Zvinchuk, had previously been added to the UK and EU sanctions lists.