The Russian concentration camp behind the death of Russell Bentley

On November 16, 2024By Pranco

Russell Bentley, an American defector, was arrested, tortured and murdered in a concentration camp in Donetsk, a new report has found. The camp, which operates under Russian military command, is known for its brutal treatment of prisoners, including Russian soldiers.

The last time Lyudmila saw her husband, Russell Bentley – an American defector to Russia who rose to prominence as a pro-Kremlin internet personality – was at the administration building in Donetsk on April 8 at 4:15 p.m.

That day, Bentley and Lyudmila traveled to the city’s Petrovsky district, where they heard the explosions, she said. Bentley, who was struggling to make a living by selling war footage and photographs to the Russian propaganda channel Sputnik, turned to photographing the aftermath of the incoming shelling. He never came back.

For months, his wife and the broader online community speculated about his death. A formal investigation was launched and on September 20, 2024, the Russian Investigative Committee concluded that Bentley had been murdered by Russian soldiers. Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrei Iordanov.

While the initial investigation revealed that Bentley’s car had been detonated with his body inside, a new report by ASTRA Press, a Russian independent news media launched at the beginning of the large-scale invasion, suggests something more sinister. Astra’s press has discovered that Bentley was actually taken to a nearby concentration camp of the Russian 5th Brigade, where he was tortured to death.

Petrovsky Mine Concentration Camp

When Bentley arrived on the scene to photograph the shelling, he was met by soldiers from the 5th Russian Brigade, the report said. The soldiers allegedly broke Bentley’s phone and threatened to kill Bentley in the air in front of passers-by. Ultimately, Bentley was forced into a car and transported to the Petrovsky concentration camp.

A satellite image of the Petrovsky Coal Mine now used as a concentration camp. (Source: Google Eart/ASTRA Press)

Since 2014, the former Petrovsky Coal Mine has been converted into a concentration camp run by members of the 5th Brigade. It holds prisoners as well as Russian soldiers accused of disciplinary violations. Prisoners are subjected to humiliation and torture, often resulting in death. “The army is brought there with bags on their heads,” explains Daniel, a former prisoner. ‘They don’t give you food. If you want to go to the toilet, they give you a bag and go (in).” Daniel describes how he and his fellow soldiers are hung from the ceiling with chains attached to their arms and legs. Daniel’s story is just one of many prisoners who experienced similar horrors in the camp at the hands of the 5th Brigade.

Although the details surrounding Bentley’s fate in the mine are unknown, according to a friend of Lyudmila, Bentley was killed through electric shock torture. Bentley, a 64-year-old heavy drinker with a history of drug abuse, did not survive the electric shocks.

Lyudmilla Bentley holds a photo of her late husband, Russell Bentley. (Source: Bichute.com)

At the Petrovsky mine, prisoners enter a kind of “torture transporter”, where they are placed in the cellar, the electrocution chair or the mine pit. The mines’ earthen pits are called Zindas, and this particular method of torture dates back to the Chechen War, when Zindas became infamous for the extreme abuses committed there.

In these Zindas, commanders publicly humiliate their subordinates by urinating on them, along with other forms of abuse. Daniel, the commander of his platoons, was placed in the pit along with the rest of his unit for refusing to participate in a suicide attack on Ukrainian positions. “One was cut, the other was shot in the face,” he said of the soldiers in his unit. “I’ll just tell you how we all say it here: killing in Donetsk is the order of things, you understand?”

Not long after giving his story to Astra, Daniel disappeared. Unconfirmed reports claim that Daniel was found and returned to the 5th Brigade.

It’s not just sadism. The real reason is money.

Maxim Vedoprav

Human rights activist

According to Astra’s report, the main reason these men are being held captive is for the officers’ financial gain. “It’s not just sadism. The main reason is money,” explains human rights activist Maxim Vedoprav. In the Russian army, a soldier can receive as much as three million rubles for a gunshot wound to the leg, and as much as six million for his death. As a result, commanders of the 5th Brigade have begun to imprison soldiers and force them to sign a power of attorney, transferring their salaries to the commanders. Vedoprav explains that while these soldiers are kept in the basement, their commanders receive 200,000 rubles for each of them every month. “Actually a great company,” he says.

The Russian ‘Bermuda Triangle’

Since 2014, the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) has been widely regarded as a place of lawlessness. After the occupation by Russian troops, the region was never officially integrated into the Russian Federation.

When Bentley’s Russian tourist visa expired, he found himself stuck in a kind of purgatory. Cannot travel through Russia and cannot return to the US. There is no Russian consulate in the “DPR” so Bentley eventually had to purchase a DPR passport.

Russell Bentley poses with his new passport. (Source: @narrative_hole / X)

The territorial gray area of the “DPR” benefits Russia by allowing the country to carry out unlawful actions, such as those in the Petrovsky concentration camp and the filtration camps, under the radar. International law stipulates that a third country must be responsible for detaining civilians transported from conflict zones. For example, in the case of forcibly deported Ukrainian children, Russia keeps them in the ‘DPR’, claiming that they are neither part of Russia nor Ukraine.

Many more than just Bentley have disappeared into the depths of the ‘DPR’. Numerous reports of other soldiers who fought in the Donetsk region, stories have emerged of how they were sent on suicide missions and never heard from again. The report notes that Irina, the wife of one such soldier, recounts a message she received from her husband just before he disappeared. “The higher ups know that people are disappearing here and dying in batches.” His message also warned Irina to withdraw all money from his accounts. “You can only leave the (Russian) 5th Brigade feet first,” a 5th Brigade soldier told Astra.

You can only leave the (Russian) 5th Brigade feet first.

Soldier of the 5th Brigade of Russia

Relatives of Russian soldiers are calling for an inspection of 5th Brigade units due to these inexplicable losses. Last April, the wife of a 5th Brigade soldier said in a collective video message on social media: “All his colleagues disappeared with him. How is it possible that an entire group is missing, is there a Bermuda Triangle?”

How Russia profits from torture and death

The man believed to be responsible for many of these disappearances is Alexei Troshin, known by his nickname ‘Prisoner’. In late 2023, Putin awarded Troshin the title of Hero of Russia and praised him for leading strike groups on dangerous missions. Official reports claim that Troshin personally destroyed 5 tanks and 23 armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

However, according to an Astra report, the reality is that Troshin sends his soldiers on suicide missions and takes credit for their successes. Those who refuse or are injured are sent to the Petrovsky concentration camp.

Alexei Troshin, the leader of the abuses in the Petrovsky mine (Source: Vesti report)

Russia remains silent on emerging reports about the activities of the Petrovsky mine. While the open torture of prisoners of war is reprehensible, it becomes even more inexplicable when the victims themselves are Russian troops, especially as Putin tries to drum up support for the war.

The death of Russell Bentley sheds light on yet another treacherous side of the Russian war: the brutal and covert operations at the Petrovsky mine, where prisoners – including many Russian soldiers – are subjected to torture, beatings and murder. The use of these camps is not just about sadistic punishment; it is also a business. Prisoners are exploited for financial gain, with their pay cards manipulated by commanders who profit from their suffering and death. Remains of Russian torture chambers have been discovered in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and there are believed to be many more in the Russian-occupied territories.

Bentley, a pro-Kremlin journalist, was a high-profile victim, but he is not the only one to disappear in this dark and lawless region. This so-called “Bermuda Triangle” of the “DPR” has allowed Russia to claim countless lives and torture prisoners to death in an area where international law and oversight are virtually non-existent. The lack of a clear territorial designation for the ‘DPR’ allows Russia to carry out such actions – both against its own population and against captured locals – without consequence, evading responsibility while quietly profiting from human suffering . This should serve as a deterrent to prevent a similar type of buffer zone from being included in the peace talks regarding Ukraine.

Bentley’s death is not an isolated incident. Although the Russian government has not yet commented on the existence of the Petrovsky mine, the silence is telling. The region, which is in a state of legal ambiguity, serves as a convenient cover for actions that Russia would prefer to keep hidden from the world.