Russian Court Sentences Soldiers for Killing US Volunteer

A military court in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region sentenced four Russian soldiers on Monday to prison terms ranging from 18 months to 12 years for the torture and killing of Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old American citizen who had volunteered to fight alongside Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

The court convicted Major Vitaly Vansyatsky and Lieutenant Andrei Iordanov of murder and sentenced each to 12 years in a penal colony. Sergeant Vladislav Agaltsev received an 11-year term for his role in the killing. A fourth soldier, Vladimir Bazhin, was given 18 months for helping to conceal the crime. Vansyatsky, Iordanov, and Agaltsev were also stripped of their military ranks. All four pleaded guilty during the proceedings, according to Russia's Investigative Committee.

Investigators determined that the soldiers encountered Bentley on April 8, 2024, near a military repair facility in Donetsk, where he was preparing to film the aftermath of a Ukrainian missile strike. Bentley, who identified himself as a reporter working for the Russian state-controlled Sputnik news agency, was mistaken for a saboteur. Vansyatsky reported the encounter to his unit command, which instructed him...