Summary: Russian investigators reported arrests linked to car bomb incidents in Moscow after two devices were discovered on Tuesday. Officials say one device was identified by security services in the southwest of the city and targeted an employee of a scientific production enterprise, while a separate blast in eastern Moscow detonated and reportedly killed a driver. Authorities have opened a criminal case in the southwestern incident and said that teenage suspects have been charged.
Investigators in Moscow said on Wednesday that at least two people have been detained over a car bombing incident, with authorities indicating that teenagers were involved in one of the cases. Security services found two separate car bombs on Tuesday - one located in the eastern part of the city that detonated in the morning, and another discovered in southwestern Moscow that was identified before an explosion occurred.
Russia's state Investigative Committee announced that it had opened a criminal case connected to the device found in southwestern Moscow. That bomb was said to have been placed with the apparent purpose of targeting an employee of a scientific production enterprise. The committee said it had not determined how that device actually detonated.
The investigative account states that a teenage girl was instructed by unidentified persons to collect the device and then handed it to a teenage boy. The boy is reported to have put the device onto the car and affixed a GPS tracker to it, according to the committee. The statement added that there were no casualties in that southwestern incident and that the suspects have been charged.
In a separate incident in eastern Moscow, a driver was killed, the Kommersant newspaper reported. The deceased individual has not been publicly named. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that an explosion occurred but said that specifics could not be released because the matter is under investigation. "An explosion took place, but the details, as you understand, are not subject to disclosure in connection with the investigation that is underway," Peskov said. "Of course, this is a matter for our special services."
It remains unclear whether any arrests have been made in connection with the eastern Moscow explosion. Investigators have not disclosed further operational details while inquiries continue.
The statements by Russian authorities also come in the context of past claims by Ukrainian military intelligence. Since the start of the war in 2022, Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed responsibility for assassinating several senior Russian officers, some of whom have been listed publicly by Ukraine as enemies. The current reporting does not link these specific car bomb incidents to those claims, and investigators have not established or announced any such connection.
What is known:
- Two car bombs were identified in Moscow on the same day - one detonated in eastern Moscow, one was identified in southwestern Moscow.
- A criminal case has been opened in relation to the southwestern device, which was said to target an employee of a scientific production enterprise.
- Investigators reported that teenagers were involved in placing the southwestern device and that suspects there have been charged; in the eastern explosion a driver was reportedly killed.
What remains uncertain:
- How the southwestern device detonated has not been determined publicly.
- It is unclear whether arrests have been made in relation to the eastern Moscow explosion.
- Authorities have not disclosed further investigative details due to the ongoing nature of the probes.