Russia's embassy in Italy on Monday accused Ukraine of carrying out the deadly bombing at a Moscow restaurant over the weekend, marking the first official public allegation by Russian officials that Kiev was behind the attack.
"The bloody tentacles of Zelensky's terrorist gang have reached the Italian restaurant Balzi Rossi in Moscow," the embassy said in a statement on social media.
"It is clear that, by planning a terrorist attack on one of Moscow's best Italian restaurants, the Kiev terrorists wanted to intimidate Italians working in Russia, to show them that they, too, were in their sights and could become the next victims of these scoundrels at any moment," it continued.
The embassy said the restaurant's head chef, who is from Naples, and his team escaped unharmed.
An explosion ripped through the restaurant on Saturday evening. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described it the following day as a "brutal act of terror."
Russian authorities have released few details about the circumstances of the blast.
The embassy said five people were killed and 19 injured, confirming earlier casualty figures reported by several Russian Telegram news channels.
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee had previously said that among the casualties was a woman suspected of bringing the explosive device to the restaurant, a security guard who prevented her from entering the premises, and a customer.
Russian military bloggers on Telegram said a senior military officer had been celebrating his 55th birthday at the restaurant. They identified him as Alexander Chaiko, who has served as commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces since May.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, senior Russian military officers and prominent pro-Kremlin figures have repeatedly been targeted in assassinations and bomb attacks, including inside Russia.