2026 Moscow bombing

On the evening of August 1, venues at the Balzi Rossi restaurant were closed to the public and placed under strict guard for a large private banquet being held on the restaurant's outdoor summer terrace, attended by about 50 banqueters. The celebration was guarded by about 15 guards with hand-held radios.^{[1] [9] [4] [10]} 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 giftbox containing a homemade bomb with the force of a kilogram of TNT 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 banqueter were killed instantly by the immediate explosion, the woman's severed arm being flung about 15 meters onto the road.^[2] Twenty-one others were variously injured by the effects of the explosion.^{[11] [2]} Later in the day, 2 victims died in hospital and 6 in grave condition.^{[3] [4]}

While the blast shattered nearby 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.^{[11] [1] [4]}

Banqueters abruptly began to evacuate the restaurant, fleeing toward Barrikadnaya station clutching their bloodstained clothes.^{[2] [5]} 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. On August 2, the restrictions were lifted and police and investigators left the scene.^[12]

Preliminary investigations and Russian newspaper Kommersant 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] [11]} Accounts suggest the woman was possibly an unwitting deliveryperson paid to deliver the package, not aware of the box's explosive contents. Investigators believe the bomb was most likely detonated remotely outside of her control by a separate individual.^{[2] [8] [1]}

No individual or group has taken responsibility for the bombing as of now.

Early reports erroneously reported that the explosion was an accidental gas explosion caused by a leaking gas canister originating from the restaurant's kitchen. 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 the explosion was actually caused by a "minor issue" at the restaurant's entrance.^{[13] [1]}

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.^{[5] [9] [4]} The city's Night Bike Festival was also postponed indefinitely to another date.^[4]

According to Kommersant, a criminal case has been opened, and Russian authorities are investigating the explosion as a terrorist attack.^[2]

On August 2, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin released statement on social media, describing the bombing as a "brutal terrorist act", sending condolences to those affected and assuring that investigations were underway.^[14]

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."^[1]

The Russian Embassy in Rome blamed the bombing on Ukrainian terrorists, declaring, "It is clear that when planning a terrorist attack on one of the best Italian restaurants in Moscow, the Kyiv terrorists wanted to scare Italians working in Russia..."^[12]

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan posthumously granted the security guard who stopped the woman with the Tigran Keosayan award with 1 million rubles.^[4]

The attack prompted widespread speculation about the occasion for the event and the intended target of the bombing.

The bombing is suspected to likely be an assassination attempt.^{[1] [11] [9]} Russian independent media and journalist Oleg Kashin claim that the banquet was occasioned for the 55th birthday of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Aleksandr Chayko (born 27 July 1971). Russian Telegram channels describe the banquet's guards as off-duty Federal Protective Service personnel, and that it was attended Russian Federal Security Service officials, government officials, Duma deputies, and Ministry of Defense generals. Witnesses described military and government vehicles gathering around the restaurant.^[10] Social media posts circulated, supposedly by banqueters at Chayko's birthday celebration before the attack.^{[7] [6] [5] [8]} It has been speculated that Chayko's daughter, Maria, may have been injured in the explosion. These claims are yet to be confirmed by Russian officials, who make no mention of Chayko.^[12]

Conflicting eyewitness accounts contradictingly report that the banquet was actually for a wedding reception.^{[6] [5] [4]}