Russian major general killed in Ukraine

A Russian general whose brigade is accused of torturing and killing Texas Kremlin fighter Russell Bentley has died in Ukraine, according to multiple reports.

Major General Pavel Klimenko commanded the Fifth Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

Klimenko, 47, was reported dead by several Russian military bloggers, including Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories), a Russian investigative journalism platform, which said Klimenko's sisters had confirmed his death on social media.

He died on Thursday, according to US-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe. One of his sisters also confirmed the death to ASTRA, an independent Telegram channel that covers the war between Russia and Ukraine.

It is not clear how Klimenko died. Newsweek the Russian Defense Ministry has asked for comment.

Klimenko, originally from Stavropol, Russia, served in annexed Crimea before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine – he was promoted to major general in May of this year.

Klimenko is believed to have been one of the commanders who allegedly set up what ASTRA previously called a “concentration camp” on the roof of an abandoned Petrovskaya mine in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.

Bentley is said to have been tortured and ultimately killed there in April. According to ASTRA's investigation, Russian soldiers were also tortured there to forgo their salaries and compensation for injuries, with some being deliberately wounded in order to claim these funds.

Bentley, 64, died as a result of electrocution torture, a friend of Bentley's wife, Lyudmila Bentley, said in September.

An investigation by the Russian Investigative Committee into the circumstances of his death found that he was allegedly tortured and killed at the Petrovskaya mine by members of the Fifth Brigade, Astra Press, an independent Russian media outlet, reported.

The Russian Investigative Committee accused Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrei Iordanov, members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, of negligently torturing and killing Bentley as a group, an act allegedly beyond their authority, Rg.Ru reported in September.

It was alleged that Vansyatsky and Agaltsev blew up Bentley's remains in a VAZ 2115 car using a TNT block, and Bazhin, another soldier in the military unit, allegedly moved his remains to another location

Bentley wrote blogs and recorded vlogs about the war for his YouTube channel. He joined the Russian Armed Forces in 2014 Newsweek previously reported. “The Donbas Cowboy,” as Bentley called himself, was an arborist in Austin, Texas, before joining the Russian troops. He later married a Russian woman and acquired Russian citizenship.

Bentley told Newsweek in 2022: “If I always said that I was just a few seconds or centimeters away from death, firstly, we would be here all night and secondly, you wouldn't even believe me.”

“I can tell you that I am the happiest guy I have ever known. I believe in guardian angels because I was lucky enough to be here,” he added.

Vazhnye Istorii has reported that Klimenko's death brings the number of Russian general casualties to 13, although Russian authorities have only confirmed eight.