It was obvious from the get-go that this was going to be an odd one, when a middle-aged self-styled communist from Texas, having defected to Russia in 2014 to join the army and fight “Nazis” in Ukraine, suddenly disappears after ten years — purportedly kidnapped and brutally murdered because he is suspected of being a CIA spy.

Sound like a Tom Clancy novel? Nope, sorry . . . it’s real life. I’m telling you: you just can’t make this stuff up.

They (the Russians) keep saying he’s dead. But where is his body? Is there a murder without a corpse? And what about . . .

Wait a second. The most logical way to approach this would probably be to create a timeline of events, insofar as I know them; so let’s try that.

*. *. *

In 2014, Bentley joined the Russian forces fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. He married a Ukrainian woman, Lyudmila, with whom he has since lived in Petrovsky, Donetsk. According to Al Jazeera (April 29, 2024), “He reportedly obtained Russian citizenship in 2021, and last year started working as a correspondent with the pro-Kremlin Russian news agency Sputnik.”

For a good ol’ boy from Texas, Bentley certainly did develop a unique philosophy of his own throughout the first 55 years of his life:

“Bentley had described himself as a ‘poet’ and had said the US today is ‘governed by a group of original fascists and oligarchic companies, enemies of Russia and humanity as a whole.’

“He said he devoted his life to fighting against them, especially after the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, which he claimed were ‘based on lies, and their committing crimes against humanity there.’” [Al Jazeera, April 29, 2024.]

Fast-forward to April 2024:

April 8: Russell Bentley is allegedly kidnapped. Wife Lyudmila waits about a week before reporting this to the police, who opened a criminal case that has now been turned over to a “military investigation committee.”

April 17: An article about Bentley’s disappearance appears (unlike Bentley himself) in the Daily Beast.

April 18: Finding Bentley’s story fascinating, I write my first blog chapter about him, at which time there is very little hard information, but a whole lot of questions.

April 19: An announcement is made on X by Margarita Simonyan — editor-in-chief of the Russia Today (RT) news channel, and reportedly a “close confidante” of Vladimir Putin — to the effect that Bentley has died in Donetsk “fighting ‘for our people.’” [Al Jazeera, id.] At or about the same time, Bentley’s former battalion, the Vostok Battalion, issued a statement on Telegram saying that “those who killed Russell Bentley . . . [will be dealt] exemplary punishment.” [Al Jazeera, id.]

April 20: The New York Post reports: “The body of Russell Bentley, a 64-year-old U.S. Army vet, was recovered in the Russian-controlled region of Donetsk Oblast, Reuters reported.”

April 24: Allison Quinn of the Daily Beast reports that “Unconfirmed reports have been circulating among Russian military bloggers to the effect that Bentley ‘suffered a gruesome death at the hands of Russian troops who mistook him for a spy.’’ And Lyudmila Bentley stated on Telegram: “I know that his remains have been seen. But then I’m told that there are no remains. How is that?”

April 27: I post a follow-up, still with a plethora of questions but no solid conclusions.

April 29: Along comes the aforementioned Al Jazeera article under the headline: “Russell Bentley: Pro-Russia fighter from US dies after Donetsk ‘abduction,’” with a sub-head reading: ‘Russians call for ‘revenge’ after the 64-year-old US-Russian citizen, who’s fought against Ukraine, dies.”

*. *. *

Now, wait just a damn minute here!

According to the Daily Beast report of April 24th, Russian military bloggers are saying he “suffered a gruesome death at the hands of Russian troops who mistook him for a spy.” But now, according to Al Jazeera, “Russians” — they don’t say which ones — are calling for revenge. Against whom? Themselves? An entire battalion? Or just the specific perps? Have they actually been identified? And, one more time, where in hell is Russell Bentley’s body . . . or what’s left of it?

And one further question: Why did Al Jazeera enclose ‘abduction’ in quotation marks? Is there still uncertainty as to who did what to whom on April 8th?

I’m sure his widow, the grieving Lyudmila, would like some answers.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/3/24