The burial of the Wagner mercenary group boss, two months after his mutiny, was shrouded in misinformation, preventing a public display of support the Kremlin did not want to see.
Visitors, some tearful, left flowers and other tributes to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company, at a sidewalk memorial.
Russian investigators said genetic tests showed that the Wagner chief, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, who led a brief mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership, was among the victims of a plane crash last week.
In a Ukraine village, there are no tears for Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner private militia, whose presumed death in a plane crash was reported this week.
Wagner could be absorbed into Russia’s Defense Ministry or its military intelligence arm. A Russian general could also be installed to lead the group, U.S. and Western officials said.