Moscow mayor calls deadly restaurant bombing a 'terrorist act'

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Sunday described the deadly bombing at an upscale restaurant in the Russian capital as a "brutal terrorist act", a day after an explosion killed three people, including the suspected woman bomber, and injured at least 21 others.

The blast occurred on Saturday evening at Balzi Rossi, an Italian restaurant in central Moscow. According to Russian state media, citing local officials, the suspected attacker was among those killed.

"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," Sobyanin said in a post on social media.

He said an investigation was underway and vowed that those responsible would be identified and punished.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said at least 21 people were injured when an explosive device detonated at the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square.

According to state news agency RIA Novosti, the woman allegedly attempted to enter the restaurant carrying the explosive device but was stopped by a security guard before the bomb exploded. The Moscow Investigative Committee said the incident remained under investigation.

The restaurant had reportedly been closed to the public at the time for a private event.

As of Sunday afternoon, Russian authorities had not identified those responsible and no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Footage broadcast by Russian state media showed heavily armed security personnel, ambulances and emergency responders at the blast site.

The bombing comes amid heightened security in Russia following a series of targeted attacks on senior military and government officials since the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Earlier this year, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced tighter security measures around senior officials after several assassination attempts in Russian cities.

However, authorities have not linked Saturday's restaurant bombing to the war in Ukraine or to previous attacks.

Russia has previously blamed Ukraine for several high-profile bombings, including the April 2026 car bomb that killed Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Russian General Staff's main operational department. Ukraine did not publicly claim responsibility.

Ukraine's SBU security service has, however, acknowledged organising the December 2024 killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces. Kirillov was killed in Moscow by a bomb concealed in an electric scooter.

Other prominent victims of bombing attacks in Russia include Daria Dugina, daughter of nationalist ideologue Aleksandr Dugin, and pro-Kremlin military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Ukraine denied involvement in Dugina's killing and did not respond to Russian accusations over Tatarsky's death.