Russian General Linked to Death of Russell Bentley and Donetsk Torture Camp Killed in Ukraine

Major General Pavel Klimenko, commander of the 5th Brigade, known for allegedly organizing a torture chamber in Donetsk where American "war correspondent" Russell Bentley was killed, has reportedly died in Ukraine.

The news of his death was shared by Vazhnyie Istorii. His death was confirmed by Ekaterina Klimenko in a conversation with ASTRA.

Earlier, ASTRA had published reports detailing the torture of Russian soldiers by commanders of the 5th and 110th brigades. According to sources, the commanders of the 5th Brigade created what was described as a “concentration camp” at the abandoned Petrovska mine in Donetsk. It was in this location that soldiers from the 5th Brigade allegedly tortured Russell Bentley before his death.

On September 20, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that Russell Bentley, an American pro-Kremlin fighter who participated in Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014 and was killed under previously unclear circumstances, was tortured to death by Russian soldiers.

This site was also used to torture men who refused to fight, who were later forced into deadly assaults. It’s reported on one such case involving Vladimir Frolov, a guitar teacher who was unlawfully mobilized despite having a third-degree disability. After requesting demobilization for health reasons, Frolov was sent to the basement of the 5th Brigade, tortured for refusing to fight, and then sent into combat despite a medical recommendation for an examination. He died in action and was buried in a closed coffin.

Another alleged aim of the torture was to extort salaries and injury compensation from their own troops.

In the comments on Klimenko’s death post, dozens of messages from relatives of deceased soldiers recount beatings, torture, and extortion they say Klimenko carried out.