A Russian-controlled court in eastern Ukraine has sentenced four Russian soldiers for brutally torturing and killing an American who had spent a decade fighting and propagandizing on behalf of Moscow’s war effort.
Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas, was a well-known figure in Donetsk, where he lived, fought with pro-Russian separatists, and later became a vocal online supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Known by the monikers “Texas” and the “Donbass Cowboy,” Bentley’s disappearance in April 2024 sparked outrage among Russian ultra-nationalists who viewed him as a loyal servant of the Kremlin’s cause.
On Monday, a court in Russian-occupied Donetsk convicted four servicemembers—Major Vitaly Vansyatsky, Lt. Andrei Iordanov, Sgt. Vladislav Agaltsev, and Pvt. Vladimir Bazhin—handing down sentences ranging from 1.5 to 12 years in a penal colony. Vansyatsky, Iordanov, and Agaltsev were also stripped of their military ranks.
Investigators said the soldiers mistakenly believed Bentley was a U.S. spy as he prepared to film the aftermath of a Ukrainian strike. According to court findings, they detained him with a bag over his head, beat and tortured him in an attempt to force a confession, and ultimately killed him. They then placed his body in a car, detonated explosives to destroy the evidence, and later moved his remains to another location.
Bentley’s wife reported him missing on April 8, 2024. His body was never recovered, though members of the Vostok Battalion—where Bentley had once served—publicly acknowledged his death 11 days later. The case drew sharp criticism from Russian milbloggers who accused military leadership of failing to protect one of their most effective Western propagandists.
From Texas Musician to Kremlin Propagandist
Bentley’s path to Donetsk was turbulent and unconventional. Raised in an affluent Texas neighborhood, he embraced leftist ideology, joined the U.S. Army at age 20, and later became a marijuana legalization activist before turning to drug trafficking. After serving prison time and spending several years as a fugitive, Bentley rebuilt his life as a laborer in Texas.
By 2014, he was deeply involved in pro-Russian online circles. Outraged by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, he crowdfunded his travel to Donbas and joined separatist militias fighting Ukrainian forces. He later became a naturalized Russian citizen, married a Russian woman, and hosted propaganda videos for state-backed media outlets, often urging Westerners to join Russia’s cause.
Rolling Stone, BBC News, and French and Ukrainian media all profiled Bentley as an eccentric symbol of Moscow’s ability to attract disaffected foreigners. Russian ultra-nationalists praised him as proof that Putin’s ideology resonated beyond Russia’s borders.
A Rare Example of Russian Military Accountability
Despite international accusations of widespread torture, executions, and abuses committed by Russian troops in Ukraine, prosecutions are almost unheard of. Bentley’s case stands out precisely because the Kremlin had political incentive to respond: his killing angered prominent pro-war commentators whose support Moscow relies on.
The four convicted soldiers were members of Russia’s 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade. All pleaded guilty. The presiding court accused them not only of murder but of desecrating Bentley’s remains and concealing the crime.
The sentencing comes more than a year after the death of their commanding officer, Maj. Gen. Pavel Klimenko, who was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike while the investigation was underway.
For now, Bentley’s remains have still not been recovered—an unresolved ending to a dramatic and controversial life.
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