The murder of American military correspondent Russell Bentley in Donbas has been solved: How he was tortured

All military personnel have been identified The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who beat and tortured military correspondent Russell Bentley with the call sign "Texas" to death in Donbass.

According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the investigation of the criminal case against the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrei Iordanov has been completed.

According to the investigation, on April 8, 2024, in the city of Donetsk, servicemen Vansyatsky, Agaltsev and Jordanov used physical violence and torture against him, resulting in his death. On the same day, Vansyatsky and Agaltsev blew up a VAZ 2115 car with his body with a TNT stick. On April 9, 2024, at the direction of Vansyatsky, a serviceman of the same military unit Bazhin committed concealment of a particularly serious crime by moving the remains of Bentley from the scene of the incident.

"Depending on the role of each, they are accused of committing acts by a group of persons that clearly go beyond their powers, the use of physical violence and torture, which negligently caused the death of the victim, as well as concealing a particularly serious crime by moving the remains of the deceased to another place (Part 5 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code, paragraph "a" of the 2 of Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 4 of Article 33 and Part 2 of Article 316 of the Criminal Code),"the department said.

Currently, the defendants are familiarizing themselves with the materials of the criminal case. Subsequently, it will be submitted for approval of the indictment and referral to the court.

Telegram channel "Base" notes that Russell Bentley with the call sign "Texas" took part in the fighting in the Donbass since 2014. The man was 64 years old, he was born in He worked there as a lumberjack for most of his life. Then he decided to convert to Orthodoxy and join the ranks of the DPR militia. Due to his age, he was unable to continue participating in hostilities and left the front. At the same time from He did not leave Russia, but married a Russian language teacher and since the spring of 2015 he has been cooperating with state publications as a war correspondent, and also helped the wounded and injured in the conflict zone.

Bentley disappeared on April 8 during the shelling of Donetsk. He left to help the victims, but never returned. Later, his car was found, and in it a baseball cap, glasses and a broken phone.