Tim Kirby
The attempted assassination is probably in response to Russia's massive success in the realm of missile warfare.
A bomb attack struck a restaurant in Moscow according to RT causing a massive detonation. This event has already lead to wild speculation as to who was the target, but there is little discussion as to who was the perpetrator of this attack, since from 2014 on all terrorism in Russia can be linked back to a single ugly source the official leader of whom wears a green t-shirt. The baseline information on the attack from Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee is as follows:
"An improvised explosive device has killed three people and wounded 21 others at a restaurant in central Moscow. The explosion struck the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant near Kudrinskaya Square at around 7:55pm on Saturday. An unidentified woman attempted to carry a homemade explosive device into the restaurant but was stopped at the entrance by a security guard."
This story is very reminiscent of tales coming from across the country of the FSB thwarting attempted terrorist attacks by 'useful idiots' recruited, bribed or tricked into working for Kiev's interests. However, this time 'one got through' and it seems as though the woman was blown up, or blew herself up, while being questioned by the guard. That is to say that the package did detonate but never truly arrived at its final destination.
The rumor mill forming around this event seems to place the target as Russian Aerospace Forces, General Alexander Chaiko who turned 55 last Monday. There were supposedly decorations at the restaurant displaying "Alexandru - 55", meaning that Alexander is turning 55. It must be pointed out that Alexander is an extremely common name in Russia so there is a chance that this was merely an unlikely but not impossible coincidence, also images of these decorations have not surfaced in the mainstream media yet.
In support of the arguments that the target was Chaiko is the guest list of "representatives of the Russian special services, the army, as well as parliamentarians and other officials (who) attended the event". Major Russian media has not confirmed this fact and it could be internet imaginings, but very often the truth of these types of things slips out quickly.
At present it seems as though Mr. Chaiko himself is unharmed and alive. According to one Russian telegram channel, "Chaiko took command of the Russian Aerospace Forces only in May and came there from the ground forces. There, since the beginning of the conflict against Ukraine in February 2022, he participated in the"special military operation"in a senior position." The Russian Aerospace Forces are responsible for all of Russia's air, space, and missile defense operations. Its primary military responsibilities are divided into three core areas: providing air power for offensive and defensive operations, managing space and missile defense systems, and conducting strategic deterrence missions. That is to say Chaiko is in charge of what is essentially the most important branch of the military in the 21st century.
The attempted assassination is probably in response to Russia's massive success in the realm of missile warfare. As of the summer of 2026 Moscow is able to strike with its missiles on any identified target on the territory of Ukraine with little hope of it being shot down. Kiev has seemingly ran out, or virtually ran out of air defense by this point. This means their only way to really effectively fight back against the Russian Aerospace Forces could be via bombings of its key players in Moscow. This is probably an example of either 'asymmetric warfare' against a technologically dominant adversary, pure desperation and spite, or both. In the history of modern warfare artillery was always king, but now conflict has shifted to missiles and drones, thus the real throne of danger lies under him, who launches the missiles.
This attack mirrors the assassination of Vladlen Tatarsky who was killed by being given an explosive gift at a public event in St. Petersburg. In both attacks it is unclear whether the women carrying the explosive device were even aware of its existence. One does not go through life checking every bag and every box for explosives. Kiev's useful idiots do not have to be aware of their status in order to 'do their job'.
Russian cultural naiveté along with a very deep tradition of celebrating birthdays means that once per year pretty much every Russian official will become vulnerable and the native Russian speakers on Bankovaya Street know this quite well. Life has to go on in Russia for normal people, but anyone of even medium level significance to the war effort, even on the journalistic or purely technological side, should refrain from any major public events or especially birthday celebrations. The fact that one does not 'feel' the war in Moscow leads to these slips ups in security happening. It is key for the Russian side to remain diligent and only "drink when we win" as Vladimir Putin famously said during the Chechen/Dagestani Campaigns.