Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died when his private plane crashed north of Moscow on the 23rd, along with his right-hand man, Dmitry Utkin, and others five passengers, plus three crew members.
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“The president’s attendance is not planned,” said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in statements collected by the EFE Agency.
The funeral could take place this Tuesday or Wednesday at the Serafímovskoe cemetery in Saint Petersburg, but Peskov has clarified that he does not have information on the date of the funerals and that both the date and other details of the funerals depend on “relatives and relatives ” from the chief of Wagner.
Last week, Putin had confirmed Prigozhin’s death and promised an investigation into the plane crash in which he lost his life, and had also sent condolences to the family.
For their part, the Saint Petersburg authorities today reinforced security measures at the Serafímovskoe cemetery, where illustrious Russian personalities are buried, including soldiers, artists, scientists and politicians.
In that cemetery also lie the remains of Putin’s parents, a World War II veteran and survivor of the siege of Leningrad.
At the entrance to the cemetery, guarded by police, this Monday metal detectors have been installed, but visitors can freely enter the premises, although entry with cameras is prohibited, as the EFE-EPA Agency has been able to verify.
However, the Russian medium fontankaciting his own sources, has indicated that this Tuesday there are no planned celebrations of masses for the body present, which indicates that Prigozhin’s burial would not be today.
The Investigation Committee of Russia (CIR) confirmed on Sunday that the body of Wagner’s boss and the other nine who died in the accident of his plane have been identified, whose identity was confirmed by comparative DNA analysis.
At the moment, the causes of the accident are unknown, among which an explosion on board, a technical failure or even a piloting error are being considered. The Embraer Legacy 600 crashed some 300 kilometers northwest of Moscow while flying from the Russian capital to Saint Petersburg on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 23. The device fell to the ground and was charred, so the bodies of its occupants were not recognizable.
Some media have pointed out the possibility that the aircraft could have been shot down, intentionally or by mistake, by missiles from the Russian anti-aircraft defense units, which protect a residence of the Russian president, located next to the route the plane was following.
The Kremlin has strongly rejected opposition accusations and statements by Western politicians that Putin could be behind the incident that killed the man who launched a “march on Moscow” with thousands of mercenaries and was the main challenge to its undisputed power in Russia.
Despite paying tribute to the figure of Prigozhin a day after his death, the Russian president stated that he “made some serious mistakes in his life, but he also achieved necessary results.” It is believed that the president was referring to the rebellion of Wagner’s boss, whom he also described as a “talented man,” with “serious errors.”
“As far as I know, he returned from Africa yesterday and met some officials here,” Putin said on August 24.
