Ukraine-Russia war latest: At least three dead after bomb explodes near Moscow restaurant

President Volodymyr Zelensky has pressed the US and other Western partners regarding Ukraine’s need for more Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence systems to counter aerial attacks from Russia.

“Every package of ballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of our people. And every night without them results in more casualties,” he wrote on X following the latest attacks.

The Ukrainian leader late Friday said he spoke to US vice president JD Vance and discussed a meeting with president Donald Trump earlier this week in Washington, which Zelensky described as “positive and productive.”

“The Russian air strikes on our country continue and air defence, specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles, remains a top priority,” Zelensky said on Friday in a post on Telegram.

The Kommersant daily newspaper has cited sources as saying that the bomb had been intended to maim and kill guests who were enjoying themselves on the upscale Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant’s summer terrace outside.

The restaurant’s ‌website said the venue had ​been closed on Saturday for a private event, but it is unclear who was present.

The party, the paper reported, was heavily guarded, which helped prevent casualties.

Kommersant added that preliminary reports suggest the courier likely didn’t know what the contents of the package were.

The newspaper reported that the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee is investigating the incident as a terrorism crime.

Russian forces carried out strikes on fuel storage tanks in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, the Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, citing the Defence Ministry.

The strikes hit a marine tugboat repurposed for use by the Ukrainian army in the port of Mykolaiv.

The Independent could not verify the battlefield reports.

Under a blazing summer sun, a chef poured oil into huge pots set up on a street in the Crimean town of Massandra, preparing to serve dozens of people queuing for a hot meal after Ukrainian attacks cut power to their own kitchens.

Cities and towns across Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, have had to cope with limited fuel supplies for much of the summer amid Ukrainian attacks on power plants and other infrastructure.

Ukraine, whose own cities have been under repeated attack since Moscow sent thousands of troops into the country in 2022, says it is “bringing the war back home to Russia” by intensifying strikes deep inside the country and on territory its neighbour controls.

Standing beside boiling vats of buckwheat, later to be added to plates of reheated tinned beef, Massandra town administration head Oksana Madyud said her workers were serving roughly 200 people per day.

“We’re preparng hot meals for people, as under the current circumstances not everyone has the means to cook hot food on electric hobs,” she said.

One local woman, Marina, said pain in her leg was making the climb down from her 10th-floor apartment difficult, but the lack of electricity had sent her hunting for a gas cooker and some cylinders.

“There’s nothing up there,” she said, referring to her apartment. “We’ve got an electric cooker – that’s it.”

As we earlier reported, three people were killed in an explosion near a cafe in central Moscow, according to Russian officials.

Moscow’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee has now confirmed that the explosion was of an improvised explosive device that a woman attempted to carry into the eatery. The explosion took place at 7:55pm local time (5:55pm BST).

This followed previous reports that a gas canister had exploded.

The committee also revised the injury toll from 15 people to 21, meaning there are at least 24 casualties in total.

Those killed included “a security guard who prevented an unknown woman suspected of trying to carry the explosive device into the restaurant, the unknown woman and one of the visitors,” a statement from the committee read, according to the Tass news agency.

A British tourist in Poland has captured on camera the moment air raid sirens started blaring during Russian strikes in Ukraine.

In the early hours of Thursday (30 July), Ryan, who was staying in Lublin, was woken to the sounds of sirens. “As a British tourist this scared the hell out of me,” he wrote.

The alarm was triggered by Russian airstrikes in neighbouring Ukraine, which killed eight people. The sirens stopped after a few minutes.

Poland’s defence minister Wladyslav Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the country endured an “extremely tough night”, which saw sirens blare, F-16 fighter jets scrambled and a suspected Russian missile crash into a field.

You can watch the moment here:

Three people were killed and 15 injured in an explosion near a cafe in central Moscow, TASS reported on Saturday, citing an official.

“The Interior Ministry’s Moscow branch is working at the site of the incident. According to available information, an explosion occurred near a summer cafe at about 08:10 p.m. (05:10 p.m. GMT) today, as a result of which three people were killed and 15 were injured in various degrees of severity,” the official told the agency.

We’re working to bring you more as you get it.