Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
To reiterate: Russell Bentley was an American convicted drug smuggler and former federal fugitive from Minnesota.
[Regnum] The murder of war correspondent Russell Bentley, call sign Texas, on the outskirts of Donetsk on April 8 occurred as a result of a “devilish” coincidence,war correspondent Dmitry Steishin wrote in his article for kp.ru.
He recalled that Bentley lived in the most shelled area of Donetsk. On the day of the tragedy, he was filling out documents at the Petrovsky district administration. The incoming air strikes began, and Bentley rushed to help the wounded. It is assumed that he was mistaken for an enemy.
"A man speaking with an accent, wearing a Stetson cowboy hat, who gave his call sign as Texas, could not help but provoke an unhealthy reaction in those who were assessing the damage after the shelling. And one thing led to another," Steshin noted.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on September 20, the Investigative Committee completed the preliminary investigation into the criminal case of Bentley's murder. The head of the department's media relations department, Svetlana Petrenko, clarified that the investigation was conducted against Russian servicemen Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrei Iordan. Depending on the role of each, they are accused of group abuse of power, use of violence and torture that resulted in the death of the victim, as well as concealment of a particularly serious crime by moving remains.
Bentley arrived in Donbass in 2014 and joined the militia, after which he fought in the Vostok battalion and took part in the battles for the Donetsk airport. Texas said that he was impressed by the courage and fortitude of the Donbass residents who resisted Ukrainian militants. He was also actively involved in volunteer activities and was awarded DPR awards. In March 2022, Bentley reported that he had raised $100,000 to help the residents of Donbass who suffered from Kiev's aggression.
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