Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been buried privately in a “farewell ceremony” in a St Petersburg cemetery, according to his press team.

Prigozhin was killed in a plan crash North of Moscow on 23 August, two months to the day since he led a failed mutiny against top Russian officials.

The aborted rebellion where he had demanded the ousting of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule since he rose to power in 1999.

In a statement on Telegram, the Wagner chief’s Press Service said: “The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich [Prigozhin] took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery.”

Other cemeteries in the Russian city had previously been mentioned in media reports as likely sites for the burial.

Secrecy had surrounded the funeral arrangements and the Kremlin said earlier that Mr Putin would not attend.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov would not give any details about the burial because it was a private family matter.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov would not give any details about the burial because it was a private family matter.

Genetic tests confirmed that Prigozhin had died in last Wednesday’s crash, Russia’s investigative committee announced on Sunday.

It did not say what might have caused his private jet to plummet from the sky minutes after taking off from the capital heading to St Petersburg.

The nine other people killed included two top Wagner Group figures – Prigozhin’s right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and head of logistics Valery Chekalov – as well as four of his bodyguards and three crew members