PUTIN'S henchmen flanked the gates of a St. Petersburg cemetery ahead of the funeral of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin that is appearing to take place today.

The rebel warlord, 62, is expected to be laid to rest in his home city in the same graveyard where the Russian President's parents are buried.

But Putin will not attend the funeral of his former pal turned failed coup leader, the Kremlin said, despite their years of camaraderie.

Prigozhin died last Wednesday when his private jet was blown out of the sky and exploded in a fiery crash that killed all ten onboard.

He became the latest to join a staggering body count of at least 40 high-profile deaths linked to Putin since he launched his bloody war in Ukraine.

Moscow's mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov did not disclose the details of Prigozhin's funeral, although Russian media suggested it will take place today in the capital.

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Reports say he will likely be put to rest at the Serafimovskoye cemetery, where numerous high-profile military figures are buried.

If so, he will rest just a stone's throw from Putin's own parents – but the disgruntled tyrant will not be attending the service.

His family have organised the affair Peskov said, adding that the "presence of the President is not envisaged."

A crowd of Putin's armed goons have circled the grounds, while police cordons were also spotted at other Moscow burial sites.

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Prigozhin's top lieutenants, who also perished in the mangled plane wreckage, are also expected to be buried in St. Petersburg.

Dozens of police cars, dog units and security officials are reportedly stationed in the surrounding area.

Roads outside the cemetery were blocked early this morning.

Tearful mourners have also swarmed the Serafimovskoye cemetery, while flowers were laid outside by those paying their respects.

Rows of red roses, candles and Wagner flags have been left by Russians.

People are being permitted entry to the graveyard, although reports claim they are being quizzed about who they are visiting and have to pass through a metal detector.

One woman visiting the grave of her relative told local media outlet MKRU: "They never close the gates, this is the first time I've seen this."

An employee at the cemetery also suggested the beefed-up security measures may in fact just be a red herring.

They said: "It seems that they want to confuse you, they specially organized a movement here, but in fact the funeral will take place in another place."

Groups of mourners were also seen taking flowers to the at the Severnoye cemetery.

It is believed that Wagner logistics chief Valery Chekalov, who was also killed in the crash, was buried there this afternoon.

A Russian Orthodox priest led the service, according to Reuters, while grief-stricken attendees kissed his coffin as they said goodbye.

The country's Investigative Committee officially confirmed Prigozhin's death on Sunday, but has not yet put forward possible causes of the crash.

The jet was filmed spiralling towards the ground from 28,000ft, with smoke pouring from the fuselage shortly before it exploded.

Bizarre theories are running rife around the fiery crash due to Prigozhin's strained relationship with Putin after he tried to overthrow him.

But the Kremlin has denied any involvement in his death, despite speculation from Western officials that he may have been purged.

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane to go down.

One of the officials, who could not be named, said the explosion was in line with Putin's "long history of trying to silence his critics".

Rumours of Telegram said a consignment of "expensive wine" was loaded onboard the aircraft minutes before takeoff.

Another claim on social media was that explosives were concealed in the booze packaging.

Haunting video resurfaced in the wake of Prigozhin's grisly end showing him chillingly predicting his own dramatic death.

The Wagner chief likened Russia under Vladimir Putin to an aircraft "on the brink of catastrophe" which could "fall apart in the sky".

Prigozhin's private jet went up in flames just 31 miles from Putin's lavish palace at Valdai, northern Russia.

The warlord sent his condolences to Prigozhin's family, but pointed out he had made "serious mistakes" and had a " difficult fate".

Progozhin had been thought to be living on borrowed time for weeks and was reported to have stayed in a hotel with no windows in neighbouring Belarus.

Among the other nine victims of the plane crash was Dmitry Utkin, a shadowy figure with Nazi tattoos seen as Prigozhin's deputy.

He managed Wagner's operations and allegedly had previously served in Russian military intelligence.

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Also onboard was Prigozhin's flight attendant Kristina Raspopova, 39, who had revealed hours earlier to her relatives both a mysterious delay to the flight and unexplained repairs being made to the jet.

The incident came exactly two months after Prigozhin staged his rebellion, which spectacularly backfired and saw him exiled.

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