Old Video Viral as Putin Paying His Last Homage to Late Chief of Wagner Group! (Video)

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner Group, was laid to rest at a cemetery in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, August 29^th, after a tragic plane crash a few days earlier. Many speculations have emerged regarding the circumstances of his demise.

Amidst these discussions, several posts on social media platforms have surfaced, addressing his passing and the potential causes of the plane crash. Regrettably, some of these social media posts are misleading and inaccurate. Let’s look at one such claim.

Social Media Posts

Certain claims propagated through a video alleging that the Russian President Vladimir Putin attended Yevgeny Prigozhin's funeral and paid his respects at the service. The video further contends that Putin, after paying homage, declined to enter his official vehicle, choosing instead to walk alone along the street.

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We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check

Based on a thorough fact-check using the Invid-WeVerify technology and additional research, we found that the original video dates back to 2013 and shows Putin attending the funeral of his former Judo trainer, Anatoly Rakhlin, in St. Petersburg.

The Description attached to the original video is below.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the funeral of his former Judo trainer Anatoly Rakhlin, which took place on Friday in St. Petersburg. The Russian president expressed his deep sorrow for the loss and, after the service, stood beside his former trainer's coffin, contemplative, with his head bowed.

Putin gave his condolences to Rakhlin's family and laid flowers at the grave of his coach. After the end of the ceremony, Putin asked for a moment for himself and walked along Vatutina Street, alone, without his usual escort of bodyguards and press.”

The original Video is given below.

Major international media outlets, including the New York Times, have not reported any such participation by Putin in Prigozhin's funeral, and they said that the Kremlin had announced Putin would not participate in Prigozhin's funeral.

Footage from Prigozhin's funeral is available, capturing the private nature of the event with a limited number of attendees. You can view the associated video below.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the claim that Vladimir Putin had attended the funeral of Yevgeny Prigozhin and paid homage to him is not supported by factual evidence. The video being circulated is misattributed and misinterpreted, as it depicts a different event from 2013.