Explosion in Moscow Targeted Russian Air Force Commander Chaiko
Five killed in attack on Balzi Rossi restaurant, senior officials among the injured. General Chaiko linked to Bucha massacre and war crimes in Syria.
Five killed in attack on Balzi Rossi restaurant, senior officials among the injured. General Chaiko linked to Bucha massacre and war crimes in Syria.
A deadly explosion that destroyed the elite Moscow restaurant Balzi Rossi on Saturday was, according to available information, aimed at Lieutenant General Alexander Chaiko, commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Chaiko was celebrating his 55th birthday at the restaurant with senior military officers, politicians, and officials when an improvised explosive device detonated, reports Net.hr.
According to data from the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC), as reported by Meduza Live, the explosion initially killed three people and wounded more than 20. The death toll rose to five on Sunday after two of the injured died in the hospital, Net.hr reports, citing the Russian portal Baza. Among the dead are the woman who brought the explosive device and a security guard who stopped her at the entrance.
According to Net.hr, an unknown woman arrived at the party, worth £85,000, with a "gift" for the general, but security stopped her. The explosive device, packed with metal balls and with the power of one kilogram of TNT, detonated while security was inspecting the package. The woman, according to a source from the Russian media outlet Kommersant, was likely used as a suicide bomber unaware of her role.
"People were lying on stretchers, and a young woman was in a state of hysteria. I saw a man whose shirt was splattered with blood," recounted a witness, as reported by Net.hr. Among the guests at the party were Deputy Russian Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, a prominent Putin loyalist, and Russian lawmaker Zelimkan Mutsoev, whose Maybach was parked in front of the restaurant.
Lieutenant General Alexander Chaiko was born on July 27, 1971, in Golitsyno, Moscow Oblast. He graduated from the Suvorov Military School in Moscow in 1988, and in 1992 he served in the Western Group of Forces in Germany. He later commanded the 2nd Taman Division and the 1st Tank Army, and in 2012 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, as detailed by Meduza Live.
He was appointed commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces in May 2026. Previously, he commanded the Russian military operation in Syria (2019-2020) and Russian forces during the offensive on Kyiv in 2022. It is precisely because of the latter that he is linked to the Bucha massacre, where about 450 Ukrainian civilians were killed.
Human Rights Watch documented 46 Russian strikes on civilian objects in Syria during the period when Russian forces were commanded by Chaiko and his predecessors, resulting in at least 1,600 civilian deaths. Chaiko personally reported to President Vladimir Putin and then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about operations in Syria. Despite this, Putin awarded him the title of Hero of Russia in 2020. Due to his role in conflicts, Chaiko has been on the sanctions lists of the United Kingdom and the European Union since 2022.
During the offensive on Kyiv, Chaiko visited the village of Zdvyzhivka, where his command center was located. In a video from March 24, 2022, he praised Russian soldiers: "All units, all divisions act as they were taught. They do everything correctly. I am proud of them." Associated Press journalists later identified Chaiko in photographs based on testimony from local residents.
The London-based think tank RUSI, whose senior research fellow Jack Watling analyzed the attack plans, claims that orders to "neutralize resistance" during the offensive on Kyiv came from the command level at which Chaiko operated. In 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released an audio recording in which Chaiko allegedly issues an order in March 2022 to strike the settlement of Teterivske.
Although there is no official confirmation, Net.hr reports that there are suspicions that Ukrainian intelligence services are behind the attack. Members of the Russian security service FSB also arrived at the scene, located on Kudrinskaya Square in a Stalin-era skyscraper. Initially, it was suspected that the explosion was caused by a gas leak in the kitchen, but the investigation is being conducted under the article on terrorism.
