2026 Moscow bombing
Bombing at the Balzi Rossi restaurant-café
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On 1 August 2026, a bombing occurred during a private banquet at the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant-café on the ground floor of the Kudrinskaya Square Building in central Moscow. The bomber was an unidentified woman who attempted to enter the banquet with an improvised explosive device concealed within a gift box.[1][2]
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Kudrinskaya Square Building, Presnensky District, Moscow, Russia
- Banqueters at the Balzi Rossi restaurant
- Aleksandr Chayko (unconfirmed)
| 2026 Moscow bombing | |
|---|---|
The Balzi Rossi restaurant in 2013 | |
| Location | 55°45′32″N 37°34′50″E Kudrinskaya Square Building, Presnensky District, Moscow, Russia |
| Date | 1 August 2026 19:55–20:10 (MSK; UTC+03:00) |
| Target |
|
Attack type | Parcel bombing (IED) |
| Weapon | Improvised explosive device with metal ball bearings |
| Deaths | 5 (including the bomber) |
| Injured | 19 |
| Perpetrator | Unknown woman |
| Defender | Security guard |
A security guard intercepted the woman at the entrance to the restaurant, the bomb detonating on the restaurant's veranda before she could get inside. The explosion killed 3 people, including the woman, and injured 21 others.[1][2] Two later died in hospital and 6 were reported to be in grave conditions.[3][4][5]
Independent media reported that the attack may have been an assassination attempt on one or more Russian military officials, especially Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Aleksandr Chayko (born July 27, 1971) who was supposedly celebrating his late 55th birthday at the restaurant.[6][7][8][9] Previously, on 16 March, Chayko had been included in the European Union sanctions list against Russian military personnel who "led their units at a time when hundreds of civilians were killed, in some cases as a result of brutal reprisals" for participating in the 2022 Bucha massacre in Ukraine.[10][11]
Bombing
On the evening of 1 August, venues at the Balzi Rossi restaurant were closed to the public and placed under strict guard for an £85,000 private banquet being held on the restaurant's outdoor summer terrace.[12][1] The celebration was attended by about 50 banqueters and 15 security guards with hand-held radios.[4][13] The guest list and exact occasion for the banquet have not yet been disclosed by Russian authorities.
Around 20:00 MSK (UTC+3), an unidentified woman approached the establishment with a gift box containing a homemade bomb with a power of 1 kg of TNT equivalent and packed with metal ball bearings intended to act as shrapnel.[1][2]
The woman attempted to access the banquet with it in hand, but was confronted by a security guard at the entrance. The guard grew suspicious of the woman and moved to inspect it, at which time, the bomb detonated on the veranda of the restaurant.[1][2] The woman, the security guard, and a unidentified banqueter were killed instantly by the immediate explosion, the woman's severed arm being blown about 15 meters onto a road.[2] Twenty-one others were variously injured by the explosion.[14][2] Later in the day, 2 victims died in hospital and 6 were in grave conditions.[3][4]
While the blast shattered surrounding windows, sparked a small fire, and forcefully shook the restaurant causing a rain of debris, it failed to penetrate the walls of the building, leaving the structure almost completely intact with superficial damage caused by ball bearings embedding into the façade.[14][1][4]
Banqueters abruptly began to evacuate the restaurant, fleeing toward Barrikadnaya station clutching their bloodstained clothes.[2][15] Armed law enforcement officers, Russian National Guard, emergency services, a bomb squad, and an investigative task force quickly rushed to examine the scene. Russian government vehicles surrounded the premises, cordoning off the restaurant and placing it under investigation.[2][16] On 2 August, the restrictions were lifted and police and investigators left the scene.[17]
Investigation
Preliminary investigations report that the security guard's actions foiled the bombing, preventing a far greater number of casualties had the woman successfully infiltrated the banquet.[1][2][14]
Investigations also suggest the woman was possibly an unwitting delivery person paid to deliver the package, not aware of the box's explosive contents. Investigators believe the bomb was most likely detonated remotely and not deliberately by the woman.[2][18][1]
Target
The attack prompted widespread speculation about intended target of the bombing.
The bombing is suspected to have been an assassination attempt.[1][14][12] Russian and Ukrainian independent media outlets and journalist Oleg Kashin claim that the banquet was occasioned for the belated 55th birthday of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Aleksandr Chayko.[15][16][19][18] Russian Telegram channels claim that the guards stationed at the banquet were off-duty Federal Protective Service personnel, and that it was attended by Russian Federal Security Service officials, government officials, State Duma deputies, and Ministry of Defense generals. Witnesses also described military and government vehicles gathered around the restaurant.[13] Photographs and videos circulated on social media, supposedly showing restaurant banqueters at Chayko's birthday celebration where a large stage can be seen, decorated with the words "Aleksandr 55".[20]
Yan Mateev also proposed that the target could have alternatively been Major General Vladimir Selivyorstov or lieutenant general Aleksandr Yaroshevich, who were both celebrating their birthdays on the day of the bombing.[21]
Conflicting eyewitness accounts and social media posts contradictingly reported that the banquet was actually for a wedding reception.[16][15][4]
Victims
It is reported that Chayko managed to escape unharmed with the help of a bodyguard named Anatoly S. While Chayko managed to survive, his daughter Maria was hit by shrapnel and suffered a traumatic brain injury while her husband, Daniil Peredriy, died in hospital and was secretly buried in the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on 6 August.[20][13][22][23] Chaiko's 20-year-old niece, Yevdokia Kirilova, who was performing as a dancer, was wounded along with Chayko's father-in-law Aleksandr Peredriy. Kirilova's 30-year-old daughter-in-law Yulia Kirilova succumbed to substantial injuries to her chest and abdomen, dying on 4 August.[21][24]
Several military officials in attendance were killed. It is reported that Chayko and Peredriy's colleague and Maria's godfather, Major General Valery Plokhotnyuk, died on 1 August, arriving to the restaurant in a vehicle with flashing emergency lights at the time of the bombing.[25][23] Lieutenant General Igor Yerusalimov was also reported to have died from injuries.[26] Yerusalimov's farewell ceremony was held on 4 August and both were reported to have been secretly buried in the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on 5 August.[23] However, when a correspondent at Verstka attempted to contact Yerusalimov, he personally answered them and demanded they stop writing about him.[23] Official records and registries do not show that Yerusalimov is dead, and his daughter has not mentioned his death.[27] Other victims named Sergey L. and Igor G. who were hospitalized. These claims are yet to be confirmed by Russian officials, who make no mention of Chayko or his associates in their reports.[17][28]
Reactions
Early reports erroneously reported that there was an accidental gas explosion caused by a leaking gas canister originating from the restaurant's kitchen.[16][29] This was soon disproven by the Balzi Rossi restaurant's chef, Carmine Alfieri, who clarified on Instagram that the kitchen remained untouched by the explosion, and that there was a "minor issue" at the restaurant's entrance.[29][1] The Kudrinskaya Building also does not have a gas supply, rendering a gas explosion impossible.[21]
The Moscow Department of Transportation temporarily suspended transportation on the Garden Ring and Moscow Metro to and from the affected area for the remainder of the day.[15][12][4] The city's Night Bike Festival was also postponed indefinitely to another date.[4]
A criminal case was opened, and Russian authorities are investigating the explosion as a terrorist attack.[2]
On 2 August, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin released a statement on social media, describing the bombing as a "brutal terrorist act", sending condolences to those affected and assuring that those responsible will be punished.[30]
The Balzi Rossi restaurant stated that they were "deeply saddened by the tragedy and extends its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were killed” and wished a speedy recovery for those injured.[1]
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcasting network RT, posthumously granted the deceased security guard the Tigran Keosayan award of 1 million rubles.[4]
The Russian Embassy in Rome imputed the bombing on Ukrainian state terrorists, publishing a vitriolic digital condemnation that described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials as renegades and exporters of terrorism, casting threats and aspersions that likened them to al-Qaeda and ISIS. The embassy declared that "The bloody tentacles of Zelenskyy's terrorist gang have reached the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant in Moscow", warning that "Anyone who continues to associate with these rogues, to sit at the same table, to kiss their beards and stubble, to admire their absurd black costumes of kamikaze terrorists or foresters, and to supply them with money and weapons..." is complicit in terrorism. The embassy also claimed that the motive of the bombing was to terrorize the Russian Italian community, saying that it was "clear that when planning a terrorist attack on one of the best Italian restaurants in Moscow, the Kyiv terrorists wanted to scare the Italians working in Russia and to show them that they too are in the crosshairs and could become the scoundrels’ next victims."[31][32][33] The announcement also accused Ukraine authorities of being responsible for the recent series of bombings in Russia and the 2026 Monaco bombing.[34]
On 3 August, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani rebuffed the Russian Embassy's statements, calling it a "colossal lie". He reaffirmed Italy's support for Ukraine, remarking “Why would Ukrainians want to intimidate Italians if our country stands alongside Kyiv?”[35]