Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Col. Gen. Aleksandr Chayko was the intended target of an explosive device detonated Saturday night at an upscale Moscow restaurant where he was reportedly due to celebrate his 55th birthday, according to several pro-Russian military bloggers. Three people were killed and 21 others were injured in the bombing.
The explosion occurred at about 8 p.m. local time on the ground floor of a building on Kudrinskaya Square in central Moscow, where the luxury restaurant Balzi Rossi is located.
Russian authorities said a woman attempted to bring an improvised explosive device weighing about one kilogram (2.2 pounds) into the restaurant. The device was packed with metal balls. The woman, a restaurant security guard and another person were killed in the blast. Twenty-one people suffered injuries of varying severity. Authorities have not confirmed that Chayko was the target of the bombing or even that he was present at the restaurant. It is also not known whether he was injured.
Chayko was appointed commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces in May. At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he commanded Russian forces advancing through northern Ukraine toward Kyiv. In that role, he was responsible for forces that occupied the Bucha area, where Russian troops carried out a brutal massacre of local civilians. The Security Service of Ukraine has also accused him of ordering the bombing of residential buildings in March 2022, an attack that Ukraine says killed more than 30 people. The European Union imposed sanctions on Chayko over his role in the Bucha massacre.
Conflicting accounts and concerns in the Kremlin
Russian authorities and media have presented two competing accounts of the private event taking place at the restaurant: one said it was a wedding, while the other said it was a closed celebration for Chayko's birthday.
According to the first account, the woman did not know she was carrying explosives. The device was allegedly concealed among her belongings and remotely detonated by a third party when a security guard stopped her for inspection.
Under the second account, the woman intended to detonate the device inside the restaurant, where other prominent figures from Russia's security establishment and governing regime were also reportedly present.
Russian authorities have imposed a complete information blackout on the identities of the restaurant's guests, and there has been no official confirmation that any senior officials were injured in the attack. Although several hours have passed since the bombing, no organization has formally claimed responsibility. Russian authorities have so far refrained from publicly accusing Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
The attack follows a series of assassinations and targeted killings in the heart of Russian cities over the past two years, prompting heightened security around public figures and senior military officers in Russia.
