See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER and WILL STEWART Published: 19:28 BST, 1 August 2026 | Updated: 23:00 BST, 1 August 2026
Three people have been killed and 21 more injured after a woman attempted to bring a homemade bomb, disguised as a gift into an upmarket restaurant in Moscow.The blast took place on the terrace at the Balzi Rossi eatery in Kudrinskaya Square, just over a mile from the Kremlin, at around 8.10pm local time today. The restaurant's website said the venue, which is favoured by the Russian elite, had been closed for a private 'banquet' event. Russian media reported a female courier tried to deliver the bomb by claiming there was a gift inside, but was stopped by a security guard.They are both understood to have been killed in the explosion, alongside one of the restaurant's patrons. The device was loaded with metal balls and the force of the explosion was equivalent to a kilogram of TNT, it has been reported. One witness said they saw people being brought out covered in blood after the explosion. Pictured: The blast took place outside the upmarket Balzi Rossi eatery in Kudrinskaya Square, just over a mile from the Kremlin, at around 8.10pm local time today Passersby and emergency services gather at the scene in Kudrinskaya Square near the Kremlin on Saturday At least three people have been killed and another 15 people injured in a huge explosion near a restaurant in Moscow. Emergency services are pictured at the scene Emergency services are pictured at the scene following an explosion near a cafe in Moscow The explosion happened close to one of Moscow's seven Stalin-era skyscrapers'Today, during another banquet, an explosion occurred. There are dead and many injured,' prominent war propagandist Anastasia Kashevarova wrote.'They say they were celebrating a holiday, for someone from the elite.'Russian state TV initially suggested it may have been a gas canister detonating.A witness said: 'There were people lying on stretchers, a young woman was hysterical.'I saw a man with his shirt splattered with blood.'The upmarket Italian and Mediterranean eatery earlier denied they had been affected by the blast in a now-deleted post on Instagram. The head chef added on his personal account that they were 'fine' but there had been 'some problem outside'. Images posted on Russian Telegram channels showed fire engines and ambulances rushing to the scene, which is near one of Moscow's seven Stalin-era skyscrapers. Law enforcement officers stand guard at the site of an explosion at a restaurant in central Moscow Officials from the Russian Ministry of Health said the exact number of people killed in the blast is yet to be determined Emergency vehicles are parked close to the scene of the deadly explosionTraffic near Kudrinskaya Square has been temporarily blocked and the entrances to the Barrikadnaya metro station have been closed. Photographs from the scene show heavily armed cops standing guard beside a police cordon. A spokesman for Moscow police said: 'From the information we have, an explosion happened today at around 8.10pm (5.10pm GMT) near a summer cafe, causing three deaths and 15 injured, of varying degrees of seriousness.' Officials from the Russian Ministry of Health said the exact number of people killed in the blast is yet to be determined.They added that those injured are all receiving the necessary medical care.Pro-Kremlin Readovka channel reported: 'A forensic team from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and emergency services are working at the scene.'
