Russian soldiers jailed over torture, murder of American pro-Kremlin fighter last year
A court in Russian-occupied Donetsk sentenced four Russian soldiers to prison in the case of the murder of American pro-Kremlin fighter and propagandist Russell Bentley, Russia's Investigative Committee said on Dec. 8.
Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin, and Andrei Iordan were given sentences in the range of 1.5 to 12 years for their involvement in the crime last April.
Bentley, also known under the moniker "Texas," went missing on April 8, 2024. In September that year, the Investigative Committee accused the four soldiers of murdering the American and attempting to conceal the crime.
According to the court, Vansyatsky, Agaltsev, and Iordanov attacked and tortured Bentley to death on April 8. Vansyatsky and Agaltsev then allegedly blew up a car with the man's body, and on April 9, Bazhin helped to hide Bentley's remains.
All four soldiers pleaded guilty. Vansyatsky and Iordanov were sentenced to 12 years in prison, Agaltsev to 11 years, and Bashin to 1.5 years. The first three soldiers were also stripped of their rank.
A U.S. military veteran and a convicted drug trafficker, Bentley arrived in Ukraine in 2014 to join Russian proxy forces in Donbas, claiming he came to fight "against fascism" — echoing Kremlin propaganda talking points about the "fascist-ruled" government in Kyiv.
A self-described communist, Bentley received Russian citizenship in 2020. The Texan also launched his own YouTube channel and worked as a "war correspondent" for the Russian propaganda channel Sputnik.
Russia was actively recruiting and transporting foreign fighters to join Moscow-backed proxy forces in Donbas at the start of the war in 2014, heavily employing propaganda for that purpose.
Efforts to recruit foreigners to fight in Ukraine only picked up pace after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022, with citizens of India, Central Asian countries, and other nations bribed or coerced to join Russia's Armed Forces.
