The attack that struck the Italian restaurant Balzi Rossi in central Moscow on Saturday evening, causing at least five deaths and 19 injuries, is still shrouded in mystery. Russian authorities blame Ukraine, while Kiev has not commented and, so far, no public evidence has emerged to support Moscow’s account. It also remains unclear what the true target of the attack was.
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According to the reconstruction released by Russian authorities and echoed by local media, a woman showed up at the restaurant entrance claiming to deliver a gift to the guests of a private party. When a security guard began inspecting the package, the device exploded. Among the victims was the woman carrying the bomb. Investigators do not rule out that the device was remotely triggered and that the woman was unaware of its contents.
The incident recalls the 2023 attack in which pro-government blogger Vladlen Tatarsky died, killed by the explosion of a statuette filled with explosives delivered to him during a public meeting.
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The possible target
According to several Russian media, the party organized at Balzi Rossi was for the 55th birthday of General Aleksandr Chaiko, recently appointed commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces. However, there is no official confirmation of his presence at the restaurant at the time of the explosion.
Chaiko is a prominent figure in the Russian military apparatus and is accused by Ukraine of having responsibilities in operations conducted in the Kiev region during the early phases of the 2022 invasion, including those in the Bucha area. If he was indeed present, he would represent a target consistent with the strategy of targeted attacks that, in recent years, has struck officers and supporters of the Russian war.
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