The Latest About the Death of Russell "Texas" Bentley

Another story has just surfaced

I created this quick meme a few months ago about the death of Russell “Texas” Bentley, the American-born pro-Russia propagandist who moved from the US to the Russian-occupied area of Donetsk in Ukraine back in 2014. He initially fought for Russia but he soon switched to making English-language propaganda on behalf of Russia where he soon became a local Donetsk celebrity. He even briefly gained viral video fame when he made this video just a week or two after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

It all came crashing down on him back in April when he and his wife were in an administrative office when they saw a huge column of smoke after an air strike by a Ukrainian plane. Bentley ran in the direction of the smoke in an effort to help the locals. His wife lost communication with him and attempted to search for him but was unsuccessful.

At first there were rumors posted online saying that he was captured by a Russian battalion and they beheaded him. Then there were rumors saying that the Russian battalion that kidnapped him had shot him in the head several times. Finally there were new rumors saying that Bentley had been kidnapped by a Russian battalion because they thought he was a NATO spy due to the fact that he is an American. This battalion had gang-raped him then murdered him.

In any case the Russian media had reported Bentley as being dead even though his body had not been recovered.

So just when I thought that there was nothing further to write about the life and death of Russell “Texas” Bentley, some new information had recently sprung up on social media. According to the independent Russian media outlet Astra, the Russian militia known as the 5th Brigade had grabbed Bentley, smashed his phone, forced Bentley into their car then drove off. Astra interviewed unnamed sources connected with the 5th Brigade who claimed that Bentley was driven to a former coal mine known as Petrovsky where Bentley was allegedly subjected to electric shock torture until his heart gave out and he died.

Astra also revealed that Bentley wasn’t the only person who was tortured in the Petrovsky mine. Other people who have been tortured there included Russian soldiers who refused to go into battle. That article has the details as to how people were tortured and it can be gut-wrenching to read.

Despite that latest revelation, Bentley’s body still hasn’t been found as of this writing.

Russell “Texas” Bentley was a true believer in the Russian cause. He believed the Kremlin propaganda about Ukraine being ruled by Nazis, he moved to Donetsk, fought on behalf of Russia, married a local Donetsk woman, became a Russian citizen, and became a local celebrity due to his propaganda on behalf of Russia yet all that still wasn’t enough to prevent a Russian regiment from kidnapping and killing him. But there may be another reason why the 5th Brigade considered Bentley to be fair game. Glasnost Gone tweeted

“Russell Bentley was not widely liked in #Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region. He was long considered an obese, drunken, blowhard who routinely operated scams for money. So it's unsurprising this US convicted drug dealer, met his violent Karma end at the hands of Russian troops. He reaped what he sowed & Ukraine got justice.”

Bentley’s fate hasn’t deterred another American man from moving to Donetsk to fight on behalf of Russia. I wonder if Seth William Baker is even concerned about the possibility that he could have the same fate as Bentley despite fighting for Russia. It just sounds like Russians don’t give a damn about things like loyalty or being devoted to the cause—if you’re American or from some other Western country, you are fair game if a Russian battalion feels like killing a foreigner.

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