Moscow restaurant bombing kills three and injures 21

Authorities in the Russian capital are investigating a blast that, according to reporting by Abc, shook an upscale establishment in the central district on Saturday evening. The explosion occurred just before 8 p.m. Close to the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant, which is situated inside one of Moscow's prominent Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinskaya Square. According to the restaurant's website, the venue had been closed on Saturday for a private event.

The city's leadership has categorized the incident in coverage provided by The Globe and Mail. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin addressed the public on Sunday condemning the violence.

Media additions

"Yesterday, a brutal terrorist act was committed in Moscow that claimed human lives. The victims are currently in the city's hospitals, where they are receiving all necessary care."

Sergei Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow, via Abc

Mr Sobyanin stated that those responsible would be punished, though he did not say who was responsible. He also offered his condolences to the families of those killed.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported that an unidentified woman attempted to smuggle an improvised explosive device into the establishment. A security guard intervened, refusing to allow her entry before the device detonated. NAK confirmed that the woman carrying the bomb, the security guard, and a customer at the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant were killed instantly in the blast.

REN TV cited a source on Sunday as saying that two people who had been taken to hospital had later died of their wounds, bringing the death toll to five, though there was no official confirmation. REN TV said six people remained in a serious condition.

At least 21 people were wounded when the explosive device detonated at the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said late on Saturday, according to Russian state news agency Ria Novosti. Footage released by Russian state media showed heavily armed law-enforcement officers, several ambulances and other emergency vehicles at the site. Broken glasses lay on a table inside the fenced-off Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant following the deadly explosion.

Authorities have not revealed the names of the killed or injured or those of any suspects, but unverified social media reports suggested that a top Russian military commander had been the intended target but had been unharmed.

More than four years into a full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia this year promised better protection for high-ranking military officials after a series of assassinations and attempted killings, which it blamed on Kyiv. Russian war bloggers, without citing any evidence, were quick to blame Ukraine for the attack. Kyiv did not immediately comment, and no one has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Kommersant daily suggested that the woman carrying the bomb may not have known about it, and that it had been set off remotely by someone else.

The nature of the attack recalled a bombing carried out in 2023 that killed Russian pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. A young woman, Darya Trepova, was jailed for 27 years for delivering a bomb concealed inside a statuette that exploded in Tatarsky’s hands. She said she had been acting under instruction from a man in Ukraine who had sent her money.

As of early afternoon on Sunday, local time, there was no further information from Russian authorities. The Moscow Investigative Committee stated that the attack was still being investigated.