Four Russian Soldiers Charged with Torturing and Killing Pro-Kremlin American Volunteer

[C0RI0LANUS]

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Russell Bentley, a Texas man who as the "Donbas Cowboy" gained notoriety for joining Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, was ironically tortured before being killed in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Russian authorities said.

They also said that his alleged abductors tried to cover up the death by detonating a car containing his body.

In a statement released on 20 Sep, the Investigative Committee said four members of the Russian armed forces -- Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin, and Andrei Iordanov -- had been charged in connection with Bentley’s death in April.

Bentley (64) was a fixture in the low-level Russian incursion in Ukraine dating back to 2014. Calling himself the "Donbas Cowboy", Bentley became a popular figure on Russian propaganda networks for his criticism of the US government.

Bentley, whose military call sign was "Texas", went missing in Donetsk in April.

Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-bentley-torture-death-soldiers/33127501.html

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US citizen Russell Bentley joined pro-Kremlin forces and was allegedly tortured and killed by Russian soldiers in April. Undated image from WIKIMEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS (C)

Margarita Simonyan, Russia's leading pro-Kremlin journalist and editor in chief of the state-controlled broadcaster RT, wrote on X at the time that Bentley died for "our people" in Donetsk.

The commander of the Russia-backed separatists' Vostok Battalion, Aleksandr Khodakovsky, said on Telegram then that "those who killed Russell Bentley" will face "punishment." But the message was removed from Telegram shortly after it was posted.

Bentley’s wife, Lyudmila, then claimed that Russian soldiers from a tank battalion abducted him.

According to the Investigative Committee, Vansyatsky, Agaltsev, and Iordanov tortured Bentley on 8 Apr and he died shortly afterward. Vansyatsky and Agaltsev are suspected of blowing up a car with Bentley’s body in it and ordering Bazhin to get rid of what was left of his remains.

The four men have been charged with abuse of power, torture that led to a death, desecration of a body, and conspiracy to hide a body.

The Investigative Committee did not specify why the four men tortured Bentley to death, but many of his friends in Donetsk have suggested that the Texan may have been mistaken for a spy.

Bentley fought for the Vostok battalion between 2014 and 2017 and obtained Russian citizenship in 2021.

[AltairIV]

1. Ironic

[UpInArms]

2. I think he was a bad speller, also

It is Dumbass Cowboy

[niyad]

20. Exactly!

[Wonder Why]

21. Dumbass Steerboy?

[C0RI0LANUS]

3. Irony and FAFO. Red State Russell found out what happens when you work with murderers.

[marble falls]

4. This guy's life was as odd as a his death was cruel.

?si=uhn8tytWUWJVnlB_


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Bentley

Russell Bonner Bentley III[2] (Russian: Рассел Бентли, romanized: Rassel Bentli; 1960 – 8 April 2024), also known as Texas and the Donbass Cowboy, was an American man who served in Vostok Battalion and XAH Spetsnaz Battalion in 2014, 2015 and 2017 on the side of the Donetsk People's Republic. He was a YouTuber until his channel was deleted in early 2022.[3][failed verification] He also worked for the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency as a war correspondent.[4] Prior to his activities in the Donbas, he was a marijuana activist and smuggler who was later convicted of drug smuggling and spent five years in prison.
Biography
Early life

Bentley was born in 1960 in Austin, and grew up in Highland Park, Texas until he was eight. Bentley began reading leftist literature as a teenager and became a socialist. At 16, he attended high school for one semester before dropping out. Bentley later got his GED, and at age 20, was convinced by his father to join the U.S. Army. He served in the army for three years, and was stationed in Louisiana and Germany. After being honorably discharged from the army, he moved to South Padre Island where he worked as a waiter.[1][5]
Marijuana activism, conviction and imprisonment

In 1990, Bentley moved to Minneapolis. Initially working as a lumberjack, he later sold marijuana instead. He became a marijuana activist, joining the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the pro-legalization Grassroots Party. At age 30, he ran as a U.S. Senate third-party candidate for the Grassroots Party in the 1990 election, gathering 1.65% of the vote. In the mid 1990s, Bentley would also visit communist Cuba, where he deepened his leftist convictions, becoming a communist himself.[1][5] In February 1996, Bentley's house was raided by the police and he was arrested for felony trafficking of marijuana. He received a sentence of five years and three months. Although he was supposed to be released at the end of 1999, in August 1999, Bentley escaped from prison. He lived as a fugitive until 2007, when he was captured and sent to a maximum-security prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison the following summer.[1][5]
Pro-Russian activism

By 2014, Bentley was working as an arborist in Round Rock, Texas.[6] Bentley left his life in the United States, including a relationship with a yoga instructor, to join pro-Russian forces in Donetsk in Ukraine, motivated by a desire to combat Ukrainian forces.[5] He arrived in Donetsk on December 7, 2014.[3] He utilized crowdfunding platforms to finance his involvement in the Ukraine conflict, setting up a GoFundMe campaign to finance his move to the Donbas on a self-described "Fact Finding Mission to Donbass".[7]
Military and political stance

Bentley decided to fight for the Donetsk People's Republic. He expressed a strong commitment to what he perceived as a "battle against fascism", driven by the desire to take a stand against what he saw as "injustices in Ukraine". The Independent wrote that his involvement highlights the complex motivations behind foreign participation in the conflict.[2]
Disappearance and death

According to the local police and his wife, Bentley went missing on April 8, 2024.[8] His wife reported he had been detained by unidentified Russian military personnel.[4] The Vostok Battalion confirmed his death on April 19, 2024, via social media.[9][4] Alexander Khodakovsky, one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR, demanded in his telegram channel that “those who killed Russell Bentley” be punished, but later deleted this message.[10][11][12][13]‹The template Excessive citations inline is being considered for deletion.› [excessive citations]

According to Stephen Hall, a researcher on Russian affairs at the University of Bath, the "most likely scenario is that [Bentley] was killed by Russian soldiers who mistook him for an American spy."[14]

Al Jazeera 360 documented Bentley’s story in A Diary of a Fighter.[15]

Four Russian servicemen, Vitaly Vasnyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrey Yordanov, were charged with abuse of authority resulting in death (article 286 of Criminal Code), desecration of bodies (article 244) and concealment of crimes (article 33 and 316). The Investigative Committee declared Bentley was killed on 8 April, his body placed in his car and blown up, then his remains moved to "another location".[16]

[C0RI0LANUS]

5. Thanks for the backfill. He reminds me of a modern day Lee Harvey Oswald.

[marble falls]

34. Actually that never occured to me. Nice observation. And with a Texas and Russian connection.

[C0RI0LANUS]

35. Thank you, Ollie! And dabbling with socialist literature. Cheers! Stan.

[Blue Owl]

6. Send all the big tough MAGA 'men' to Russia

And let them find out how glorious it is to live under the rule of a ‘strongman’ like the one tRump idolizes

[C0RI0LANUS]

7. You said it. And some Proud Boys are finding out about living under the rule of a warden at a US FCI.

[Comfortably_Numb]

8. What a story, now watch this drive.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

9. Aww, what a shame.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[Farmer-Rick]

10. When you make a deal with the devil

You lose...always

He's one very mixed up ignorant man. His end was very predictable.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. When you align yourself with bad people, don't be surprised if bad things happen to you.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

17. Like a free pager from your boss blowing up

[617Blue]

12. No sympathy for anyone in this story.

[Botany]

13. FAFO

Oh well. Murderous thugs might not be nice guys.

[tom_kelly]

14. What a shame. Anyway... n/t

[Jirel]

15. 5 Russian Scum Down.

Not seeing a problem. Maybe it’ll help dissuade more crap-stains from running to Putin’s aid.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

16. Oh, no. Anyway...

?si=O6SNT5KpEWK7KbZc

[niyad]

18. "low-level incursion into Ukraine in 2014"??? Seriously?

[irisblue]

19. I feel sympathy for his wife and the ones who loved him

[mdbl]

26. If he were my brother, I would find it difficult to love him

just my opinion.

[irisblue]

27. I would too. One of my brothers served the deserved the long federal prison sentence he got

His crimes were extensive and awful.
I also remember the sweet 4 yr old he once was, I know the criminal he became by his own choices.
Humans are complex

[infullview]

22. Oh well

Lesson in unintended consequences.

[Justice matters.]

23. Siding with the enemy is never a good idea.

That other idiot FAFO big time.

[Playingmantis]

24. No tears from me ...just a big smile

[SunSeeker]

25. Traitor fought for our country's enemy. Karma. nt

[Beastly Boy]

28. According to Simonyan, "our people" torture and kill "our people" for the glory of "our people" in Donetsk.

Apparently, "irony" does not translate well into Russian.

[Arne]

29. Looks a bit like Steve Bannon when washed up.

[cactusfractal]

30. I'm trying to think of how...

one might ironically torture someone. 😉

[C0RI0LANUS]

32. True. Sentence should read: "Ironically, he was tortured and killed by his fellow Russian soldiers." Good catch.

[Marcuse]

33. Use your imagination.

[Lucky Luciano]

31. LOL

Probably past reproduction age or I would nominate him for a Darwin Award.

Sort of like a “queer for Palestine” actually going to Palestine to “fight the good fight.”

What a maroon! What’s up doc?

[BlueWavePsych]

36. Send these MAGAts to Russia.

[C0RI0LANUS]

37. Oof! After seeing this, I must now burn out my mind's eye.