DEAD..& NOW BURIED ole

Vlad skips Prig funeral

- JERRY LAWTON

RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin did not attend the funeral of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin following his death in a plane crash, the Kremlin has said.

The Wagner Group leader was buried in a private ceremony yesterday as one of his deputies, Valery Chekalov, was also laid to rest.

His press service said in a short Telegram post that he was buried in a "closed ceremony" at a cemetery on the outskirts of St Petersburg, adding: "Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery." Chekalov's funeral took place at the Severnoye cemetery also in the city.