"Putin's Absence at Prigozhin Funeral Fuels Speculation"

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Wagner Group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash along with other members of the paramilitary group. The Kremlin denies any involvement in the crash and says the decision on the funeral rests with the family. Meanwhile, a video of Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a prison term in Russia on espionage charges, has been released, showing him in a penal colony. Poland and the Baltic countries have called on Belarus to expel Russia's Wagner Group over border security concerns. The United Nations reports that 9,511 civilians have died in the Ukraine war since February 2022. Russia's Federal Security Service plans to interrogate two U.S. diplomats over alleged cooperation with a foreign state, and Putin will not attend the G20 summit in India.