The woman was killed in the blast together with a security guard who stopped her from entering. The guard reportedly decided to inspect the package disguised as a gift, which then exploded.<\/p>\n
According to preliminary reports, the attacker was likely unaware she was carrying a bomb, the newspaper Kommersant said<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the death toll from the explosion rose to five, according to the\u00a0Telegram channel 112<\/a>, pro-Kremlin broadcaster Ren TV<\/a> and the newspaper Izvestia<\/a>,\u00a0media outlets believed to be close to the security services.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Russian Embassy in Italy on Monday also put<\/a> the number of killed at five.<\/p>\n The blast was equivalent to one kilogram of TNT and the device was packed with metal balls, Kommersant reported, adding that the explosion was so powerful that the attacker’s remains were found 15 meters from the blast site.<\/p>\n What do officials say?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Sunday offered his condolences to the families of those killed and called<\/a> the blast \u201ca brutal terrorist attack,\u201d without specifying who was responsible for it.<\/p>\n The Russian Embassy in Italy blamed Ukraine for the attack, saying that \u201cthe bloody tentacles of [President Volodymyr] Zelensky\u2019s terrorist gang have reached an Italian restaurant in Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is clear that by planning a terrorist attack at one of Moscow\u2019s best Italian restaurants, Kyiv terrorists sought to intimidate Italians working in Russia, showing them that they too are targets and could at any moment become the next victims of these criminals,” the embassy said.<\/p>\n Neither President Vladimir Putin nor his spokesman Dmitry Peskov have commented on the attack.<\/p>\n Ukrainian authorities have also not commented.<\/p>\n \t\tnews \t\t\t\tThe Pro-War Russians and Ukrainian Defectors Killed Amid Moscow\u2019s Invasion \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Who was targeted?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Reports said that the restaurant was hosting a birthday celebration for Colonel General Alexander Chaiko, who turned 55 on July 27, as well as his appointment as the commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces.<\/p>\n A sign reading \u201cAlexander 55\u201d could be seen on the restaurant\u2019s stage in a video allegedly posted<\/a> from the event.<\/p>\n Senior officials from the Federal Security Service (FSB), Defense Ministry generals, government officials and lawmakers may have attended the event, said VChK-OGPU, an anonymously run Telegram channel that claims to share insider information from Russia\u2019s security and law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n Chaiko\u2019s daughter, Maria Chaiko, may have been injured in the explosion, the exiled news outlet Vyorstka reported<\/a>, citing a source close to the restaurant\u2019s management.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unverified lists of victims published<\/a> by Telegram channels also include a 25-year-old woman identified as \u201cMaria P.\u201d, who is reported to have suffered an open traumatic brain injury. The surname appears to correspond to the surname of her husband, Daniil Peredriy. Reports said he may also have been injured in the blast, but no details were provided.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tColonel General Alexander Chaiko.<\/p>\n Chaiko himself was not injured in the explosion, reports said.<\/p>\n Who is General Chaiko?<\/p>\n If confirmed, Chaiko would become one of the highest-ranking Russian generals to be targeted in an apparent assassination attempt since the start of Russia\u2019s full-scale war against Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chaiko was appointed commander of Russia\u2019s Aerospace Forces in May 2026. He has been accused of involvement in the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in March 2022, when he served as commander of Russia\u2019s Eastern Military District.<\/p>\n The European Union earlier this year sanctioned<\/a> Chaiko, whom it described as \u201cthe highest-ranking Russian military officer deployed in Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n A Message from The Moscow Times:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear readers,<\/p>\n We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has designated The Moscow Times as an “undesirable” organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a “foreign agent.”<\/p>\n These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. 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