The US government is offering a reward of as much as $10 million for information “leading to the identification or location” of the Russian military media outlet Rybar and its employees, according to a statement posted on the Rewards for Justice mission.
Rybar, which has over 1.3 million subscribers on its Telegram channel focused mainly on the Kremlin’s invasion in Ukraine, aims to “bolster Russia’s military capabilities and advance pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives,” according to the statement.
The outlet, which was allegedly backed early on by now-deceased Kremlin ally-turned-rebel Yevgeny Prigozhin, also manages propaganda social media channels #HOLDTHELINE and #STANDWTHTEXAS “to promote Russian government political interests” in the US, according to the US government’s tip-generating website.
Rybar now receives funding from Rostec, Russia’s state defense industrial corporation, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2022.
Additionally, according to the site, Rybar established the “TEXASvsUSA” channel on X, formerly Twitter, which seeks to “promote social division, stoke partisan and racial discord, and encourage hate and violence” in the US ahead of next month’s presidential election.
The US government in September said Moscow has spent millions of dollars to influence the coming elections and boost the Kremlin’s influence by establishing several dozen web domains used to “covertly spread Russian government propaganda.”
As part of the crackdown, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Russian state-funded broadcaster RT and its management, including editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.
In a video response to the announcement of the reward for information, Rybar director Mikhail Zvinchuk denied his operation is being used to influence the US election, and gave his registration address in Moscow. Rybar said it expects the US government to make the pledged payment in exchange for the address, via a direct funds transfer, the donation button on Rybar’s website, or in cryptocurrency.
