A woman carrying a box she said held a gift walked toward the entrance of Balzi Rossi, an upscale restaurant on Moscow's Kudrinskaya Square, shortly after 8 p.m.
That statement closed off early speculation, circulating in the first confused minutes, that a gas leak or a freak accident was to blame.
Until Russian investigators release names, every account of who exactly died or was hurt is secondhand.
That silence is not unusual for the Kremlin in the immediate aftermath of an attack on a security-linked figure: official confirmation of a senior officer's death or injury, when one eventually comes, has historically arrived days after Telegram channels first reported it, not hours.
Fifteen Generals, Five Methods: Moscow's Long War Inside Its Own Borders Saturday's bombing did not happen in isolation.
A woman carrying a box she called a gift was stopped by a guard outside Moscow's Balzi Rossi restaurant Saturday before the device detonated, killing three and injuring at least 21. Unverified reports tie it to a general's birthday party.