Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to attend the burial of Wagner mercenary head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was murdered when his jet crashed last week.
The incident occurred exactly two months after Prigozhin and his mercenaries launched a mutiny against Putin’s senior military leaders, seizing control of the southern city of Rostov and advancing towards Moscow before pulling back 200 kilometres (125 miles).
“The presence of the president is not envisaged,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov when asked if Putin would attend.
Peskov stated that the Kremlin had no precise knowledge regarding the funeral and that the arrangements were up to the family.
Investigators announced on Sunday that DNA testing had proved that Prigozhin was one of the ten passengers killed in the disaster.
The Kremlin has dismissed as an “absolute lie” the notion made by certain Western politicians and analysts that Putin ordered the killing of Prigozhin in retaliation.
