MOSCOW: Russia on Friday charged four of its soldiers serving in occupied Ukraine with torturing a US citizen living in Russian-held Donetsk who had fought with pro-Moscow forces since 2014.
It is rare instance for Russia to accuse active soldiers in Ukraine -- who are glorified at home -- of committing crimes.
The authorities did not say what had motivated the soldiers to kill Russell Bentley, who regularly appeared on pro-Kremlin social media channels, backing Moscow´s full-scale military offensive in Ukraine.
Known as “Texas”, 64-year-old Bentley was declared dead in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in April. His wife said at the time he had been abducted and killed by Russian troops.