Deadly blast at Moscow Italian restaurant kills at least three

At least three people were killed and 21 injured when a homemade explosive device detonated at an Italian restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in central Moscow, close to the city centre and about three kilometres from the Kremlin. The blast went off at about 20:00 local time, inside Balzi Rossi, an upscale restaurant that was hosting a private banquet on its terrace.

Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said a woman carrying the explosives tried to enter the restaurant but was stopped by a security guard before the device exploded. Early accounts varied on the toll, with some reports putting the number of injured at 15, while later figures raised it to 21. Several reports said the woman with the device was among the dead, and one account said a security guard was also killed.

Moscow police and state media described the device as an improvised explosive device, while some coverage called the episode a bombing. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin described it as a “brutal terror attack,” underscoring the speed with which officials framed the blast as an act of deliberate violence rather than an accident.

The scene on Kudrinskaya Square placed the blast in one of the capital’s most visible districts, a short distance from the Kremlin and in an area where restaurants and offices sit close to major state landmarks. That location, and the fact that the restaurant was filled for a private event, sharpened questions about security in the heart of the Russian capital at a time when the country is under constant wartime pressure and public order remains a central political concern.

The attack added to the strain on Moscow’s domestic security apparatus, which faces the challenge of protecting the city’s center while also controlling the narrative around major violent incidents. In a city where the Kremlin’s physical proximity often carries symbolic weight, the blast exposed how vulnerable even heavily watched venues can be when a device reaches the threshold of an upscale dining room.