Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of attending the funeral of Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov’s statement to reporters on Tuesday (August 29).
When questioned about Putin’s potential presence at Prigozhin’s funeral, Peskov clarified that “The president’s attendance is not planned.”
He also mentioned that the Kremlin lacks specific information regarding the arrangements for the mercenary leader’s funeral, indicating that the family is responsible for making those decisions.
Amid doubts concerning Prigozhin’s presence on the ill-fated plane, genetic tests conducted on Sunday confirmed that he was indeed among the 10 individuals who lost their lives in the plane crash near Moscow.
Svetlana Petrenko, the spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee, stated, “Molecular-genetic examinations have been completed as part of the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region. According to their results, the identities of all 10 victims were established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight list.”
The crash occurred on Wednesday (August 23), which was two months after Prigozhin and his mercenaries staged an insurrection against Putin and his top military commanders.
Prigozhin, often referred to as “Putin’s chef,” led his mercenary forces in a mutiny in June. They seized control of Rostov, a southern city, and advanced towards Moscow, only to retreat about 200 km (125 miles) away from the capital.
Although Putin condemned the short-lived armed uprising as “treachery,” a subsequent agreement was reached that offered Wagner mercenaries the option to join the Russian army or go to Moscow’s ally, Belarus.
Despite the arrangement, following the mutiny, various observers reportedly deemed Prigozhin as a “dead man walking,” speculating that Putin might not forgive him. Some Western nations and critics of the Kremlin even speculated that Prigozhin might have been assassinated.
However, the Kremlin has consistently denied any involvement in Prigozhin’s demise and dismissed assassination rumors as “completely false.”
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