Sputnik is remembering the fearless American citizen Russell Bonner Bentley who devoted his life to fighting Ukrainian neo-Nazi forces in Donbass.
The Texas native had volunteered to join the Donbass militia in 2014, taking up arms to defend the region's freedom against the regime that was "murdering innocent and unarmed Donbass civilians."
Operating under the call sign "Texas," Bentley served in the Vostok Battalion between 2014 and 2017. Baptized as an Orthodox Christian during the hostilities, Russell showed raised funds and delivered humanitarian aid to Donbass elderly, women and children, whose struggles and suffering were completely ignored by the Western mainstream press.
It was in an effort to break the Western media's silence about the people of Donetsk and Lugansk republics that Russell started to work as a war correspondent. In Donbass and beyond Russell Bentley was admired for his bravery, benevolence, self-sacrifice, and love for freedom.He converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity and in 2021 received Russian citizenship.
As a Sputnik contributor, Russell provided firsthand insights into Russia's special military operation.
"Russell Bentley was born an American, but became a true hero of the Russian Spring. He was colorful, passionate, had possessed a sharp sense of humor, and always spoke with complete moral clarity. Bentley believed that the battle for Donbass was not just a national liberation war of the Russian people, but part of a larger struggle by humanity against Western imperialism," recalled Dimitri Simes Jr., a Sputnik journalist who worked closely with Bentley.
Russell Bentley went missing in mid-April in Donetsk following a Ukrainian artillery attack on the city’s Petrovsky district. Four days later, the DPR Ministry of Internal Affairs put him on a missing persons list. His wife Lyudmila later confirmed to Sputnik that he had died.
Investigators of the Main Military Division of the Russian Investigative Committee launched a probe into the murder case. On Friday, it was announced that the preliminary investigation into Bentley's homicide has been completed, and the suspects identified. Russian Armed Forces servicemen Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin, and Andrey Iordanov have been accused of felonies under Russia's Criminal Code.
Bentley’s widow Lyudmila has thanked Russia’s investigators for swift handling of his murder case.
“Russell's relatives, who maintain constant contact with me, are also […] grateful to the investigative bodies that are working on the case,” Lyudmila told Sputnik.
“I can say that I am in constant contact with the investigator, who works closely with me. Now I am familiarizing myself with all 12 volumes of the case materials,” said the Donbass English-language teacher.
After the accused, their lawyers, and the prosecutor also familiarize themselves with the case materials, the case will go to court, she added, citing the investigator.
Relieved that the case is moving towards trial, Lyudmila added:
"I’d like to especially thank Dmitry Kiselev, director general of Sputnik's parent media group Rossiya Segodnya, and all Sputnik employees for their support."