A behind-closed-doors "farewell ceremony" has been held for the Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin – a funeral avoided by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Secrecy had surrounded the funeral arrangements for Prigozhin, killed in a plane crash on 23 August, two months to the day since staging a 24-hour mutiny that was the biggest challenge to Putin's authority since he rose to power in 1999. The low-key ceremony stands in stark contrast to aggressive self-promotion, with videos from Ukraine having become a regular fixture of Prigozhin's months-long feud with Moscow's military command over the invasion Putin started. That ended with his forces marching on Moscow, only stopping 125 miles from the capital when a deal was struck with the Kremlin. "The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery," his press service said in a short post on Telegram, accompanied by a photo of Prigozhin. But the seemingly private ceremony suits the Kremlin and Putin, with Prigozhin having gone from years-long ally of the Russian president to being branded a "traitor" over his armed uprising. It meant that the event could not be turned into a large-scale show of support for the Wagner chief, who as well as collecting enemies had gained admiration among some of Moscow's elite for throwing his troops into some of the bloodiest battles of Putin's war. That included around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, control of which has gained symbolic significance for both Kyiv and Moscow. Wagner forces were at the vanguard of that fight and helped Russian forces take it – although fierce battles continue around the suburbs of the ruined city. Hence why Putin and the Kremlin have to walk a fine line in not denigrating Prigozhin, despite few observers believing the Russian president would let the embarrassment of the Wagner mutiny stand without retribution. Comments from Putin have reflected that stance. Putin's comments on Prigozhin's death reflected that careful stand. He noted last week that Wagner leaders "made a significant contribution" to the fighting in Ukraine and described Prigozhin as a "talented businessman" and "a man of difficult fate" who had "made serious mistakes in life." Pictures published on social media showed Prigozhin's dark granite tombstone surrounded by a sea of flowers, mostly red roses, in the cemetery on the northeast edge of his hometown. Other makeshift memorials have appeared in recent days in both Moscow and St Petersburg. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, noted that Prigozhin has become a legendary figure for his supporters who are increasingly critical of the authorities. "Prigozhin's funeral raises an issue of communication between the bureaucratic Russian government system that doesn't have much political potential and politically active patriotic segment of the Russian public," Markov said. Russia's top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, officially confirmed Prigozhin's death on Sunday, but i has not given a cause for the crash. A number of leaders in the West, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, have suggested that nothing of this magnitude could occur in Russia without Putin's knowledge. The Kremlin has claimed that such accusations are an "absolute lie". The Kremlin had confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Putin would not attend Prigozhin's funeral. Also on Tuesday, prominent Russian nationalist Igor Girkin failed in an appeal against his pre-trial detention on charges of inciting extremism, a Moscow court said. Girkin, also known as Strelkov, has fiercely criticised the way that Russia has conducted the war in Ukraine and his arrest was seen as an extension of a crackdown on dissent by Putin. The Embraer Legacy 600 private jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow with the loss of all 10 people on board, including top Wagner bosses Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, and a crew of three. Earlier on Tuesday, Chekalov, the head of Wagner logistics, was buried at another St Petersburg cemetery. His family was joined by dozens of people, including Wagner mercenaries and employees from Prigozhin's business empire. On the battlefield in Ukraine, a military spokesperson said Kyiv's forces were advancing against Russian forces in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia after recapturing Robotyne, the latest of a cluster of villages it says it has taken back in recent weeks. Kyiv also said its troops had had some "success" in the direction of the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, but gave no details. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said fighting was heavy in the country but that Ukrainian forces were making progress around Bakhmut, while Russian shelling killed a 45-year-old man and wounded at least one other person in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk. Russia also said it had downed two drones over the Black Sea it said were launched by Ukraine. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Russian hard-line nationalist ordered to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness Key questions around James Cleverly’s visit to China Putin ‘too busy’ to face world leaders at G20

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A private ceremony was held to commemorate Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, his spokespeople said Tuesday, urging mourners to pay their respects at a cemetery...

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A college campus in North Carolina is waking up on Tuesday gripped by fear, grief and many unanswered questions. Just days into the start of a new term, students and faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found themselves hunkering down inside classrooms and leaping from first floor windows as an active shooting situation unfolded on site. Inside the science building, a faculty member was found shot dead. Following a brief moment where the wrong person was arrested – an unsuspecting individual who missed the shelter-in-place alerts – campus police confirmed that the suspect had been taken into custody around 10 minutes from the scene. Harrowingly, the horror was a somewhat familiar sight for the UNC community coming four years after a mass shooting at the Charlotte campus left two dead and four injured. Officials are yet to release the identities of both the suspect and the victim in this latest attack, with much of the details of what happened and why still unclear. Here’s what we do know so far about the shooting The shooting The shooting unfolded at around 1pm local time on Monday when UNC Police responded to a 911 call reporting gunfire at the science lab in the heart of the campus. Law enforcement arrived on the scene around two minutes after the call came in and plunged the campus into lockdown, warning that “an armed and dangerous person” was at large. Officials later confirmed that a faculty member had been shot dead inside a campus building. Soon after, the UNC Police released an image of a person of interest in the case, warning the public that “if you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911”. Chilling footage shows terrified students and staff members barricaded inside classrooms and offices for fear that an active shooter was at large. Around three hours on from the shooting, police confirmed that a suspect was arrested near a residential area 10 minutes away from campus. The gun is yet to be recovered, police said. The lockdown was eventually lifted at around 4.15pm. The suspect Neither the victim nor the suspect have been publicly identified by officials. It is not clear if they knew each other prior to the shooting or if the attack was targeted or random. At a press conference on Monday evening, police would not confirm whether or not the person arrested was the same man who was identified as a person of interest. Instead, police said that they would release the suspect’s identity once charges had been filed. The victim’s identity will also be released once next of kin is identified. The motive also remains unknown at this time. UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin M Guskiewicz said in a statement that a hotline and other mental health resources were on offer for staff and students affected by the shooting. “The students are certainly traumatised,” he said. “But I want to commend those who were inside the building ensuring everyone’s safety.” Classes have been canceled through Tuesday. Read More UNC shooting – latest: Motive remains unknown after shooter kills faculty member in Chapel Hill Suspect's motive unclear in campus shooting that killed 1 at UNC Chapel Hill, police say A white gunman killed three Black shoppers at Dollar General. Then police uncovered ‘the diary of a madman’

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