• The motives behind Bentley’s death remain unknown.
• Bentley, known as “Texas,” was declared dead in Donetsk in April.
• The charges include physical violence, negligence, and concealment of a serious crime.

On Friday, Russia charged four of its soldiers serving in occupied Ukraine with torturing a U.S. citizen living in Russian-held Donetsk, who had fought with pro-Moscow forces since 2014. It is a rare instance for Russia to accuse active soldiers in Ukraine—who are glorified at home—of committing crimes.

The authorities did not disclose what motivated the soldiers to kill Russell Bentley, who regularly appeared on pro-Kremlin social media channels supporting Moscow’s full-scale military offensive in Ukraine. Known as “Texas,” the 64-year-old Bentley was declared dead in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in April. At that time, his wife claimed that Russian troops had abducted and killed him.

The Russian Investigative Committee said on Friday it had “established all the persons involved in the death of Russell Bentley and the circumstances of the offenses committed.”

The authorities named the four soldiers involved as Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin, Andrei Iordanov, and Vitaly Vansyatsky.

They are accused of “using physical violence and torture, causing the death of a victim by negligence, as well as the concealment of a particularly serious crime by moving the remains of the deceased to another place,” the committee said.

According to the investigation, the soldiers tortured and killed Bentley in Donetsk on April 8. Two of them then blew up a military car containing his body, while another moved the remains to cover up the crime, investigators reported. Moscow stated that the soldiers were “familiarizing” themselves with the charge before the case goes to court. Bentley, originally from Austin, Texas, had served in the U.S. Army in the 1980s. He often wore a cap styled after Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, featuring a red badge with a hammer and sickle.

[embedpost slug=”ukraine-participates-in-nato-drill-to-test-anti-drone-systems/”]