Russel Bentley
| Russel Bentley Telegram (Soldier) | |
|---|---|
| File:Russel Bentley.jpg | |
| Born | 1960 Texas, United States |
| Died | April 2024 |
| Residence | Donbass, Ukraine |
| Nationality | American,Russian |
| Interests | 2014 Ukraine coup/Civil war, 2014 Ukraine coup |
Russel "Texas" Bentley is an American who went to Ukraine in 2014 to fight for the separatists in Donbas.[1][2][3]
Biography
Sonia Smith for texasmonthly.com, in an overall unsympathetic article writes about his early life:[4]
"He had led something of a swashbuckling life; he’d been an Army engineer based in Germany, a hard-partying musician in South Padre, a marijuana legalization activist in Minnesota and Alaska, and a drug trafficker on the run from the U.S. Marshals. In the early nineties, he’d even vied for a seat in the U.S. Senate."
From 2014 to 2017, he fought in the Sut Vremeni (lit. "Essence of Time") combat unit, Vostok Battalion and Khan special forces battalion. He took part in some of the most heated battles during the early stage of the Donbass conflict, including Donetsk Airport, Spartak, Avdeyevka, and Yasinovataya.[5]
After retiring from military service, Bentleу turned to humanitarian aid work and journalism. He converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity and in 2021 received Russian citizenship.[5]
Death
Bentley went missing in Donetsk on April 8, following a Ukrainian artillery attack on the city. Four days later, the DPR Ministry of Internal Affairs put him on a missing persons list. Later the month he was confirmed dead[5]
External links
- Interview with Simon Ostrovsky for Vice in 2015 - Meet the Texan Fighting for the DPR: Russian Roulette (Dispatch 107)
- CovertAction Magazine - Russel Bentley's author page
References
- ↑ https://historica.fandom.com/wiki/Russell_Bentley
- ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russell-texas-bentley-putin-propaganda-ukraine-interview-1315433/
- ↑ https://www.newsweek.com/who-russell-bentley-texas-man-pro-russia-ukraine-1683618
- ↑ https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/son-wealthy-businessman-foot-soldier-vladimir-putin-russia-hacking/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://sputnikglobe.com/20240419/sputnik-donbass-correspondent-russel-bentley-dies-in-donetsk-1117914011.html