MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the family of Wagner Private Military Company founder Yevgeny Prigozhin before the results of forensic tests were announced because there was already "clear evidence" of his death, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"The president expressed his condolences to his family," Peskov said, adding that Putin had made a statement on the matter at a meeting with Acting Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin. Peskov also said that "legal procedures required genetic and biological tests, which were completed yesterday."
There is no information yet on Prigozhin’s funeral, Peskov noted. "I don't have any information on his funeral at the moment, so I can’t say anything. As soon as a decision is made, it will certainly be announced. Such decisions are made together with the family, and they are based primarily on what the family says," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out. When asked if Putin might attend the funeral, Peskov said: "We don’t know yet when and how the funeral will be held." "So it’s impossible to answer this question at this point," he added.
On August 27, the Russian Investigation Committee completed DNA tests following a plane crash in the Tver Region. A committee spokesperson told TASS that all those killed in the crash had been identified, and the information corresponded with the passenger list, which included Yevgeny Prigozhin’s name.
An Embraer business jet en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the Tver Region late on August 23. All ten people on board were killed. A criminal investigation was launched into a violation of safety regulations and rules for the operation of transport vehicles.