At Least 3 Killed, 21 Injured in Blast Near Moscow Restaurant
At least three people were killed and 21 wounded on Saturday evening when a homemade bomb exploded near an Italian restaurant in central Moscow. Russian media reported the death toll may have risen to five, but this was not officially confirmed.
Authorities said an explosion occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on Saturday near an upscale Italian restaurant located in one of Moscow's seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinskaya Ploshchad. At least three people were killed and 21 wounded in the blast.
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said an unidentified woman carrying an improvised explosive device had tried to enter the Balzi Rossi restaurant but was stopped by a security guard. The woman, the guard and a restaurant customer were killed instantly. REN TV, citing a source, reported on Sunday that two of the hospitalized victims had died, bringing the death toll to five, but there was no official confirmation. The outlet also said six people remained in serious condition.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin offered condolences to the victims' families and promised that those responsible would be punished, describing the incident as a “brutal terrorist attack.” The authorities did not identify the victims or name any suspects.
Unverified social media posts suggested a senior Russian military commander may have been the intended target but was unharmed. Russian pro-war bloggers, without citing evidence, quickly blamed Ukraine. Kyiv has not yet commented. Earlier this year, Russia pledged better protection for high-ranking military officials after a series of assassinations and attempted killings it blamed on Kyiv.
The Kommersant daily suggested the woman carrying the bomb may not have known about it and that the device was detonated remotely by someone else. The restaurant's website said it had been closed on Saturday for a private event. The attack echoed a 2023 bombing that killed pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. In that case, Darya Trepova was jailed for 27 years for delivering a statuette containing an explosive. She said she had acted under instruction from a man in Ukraine. Senior Ukrainian officials at the time neither claimed nor denied involvement.
