U.S. Warned Russia of a Possible Mass-Casualty Attack in Moscow, the FSB Says; a Palace Park Is Closed
Russia's FSB says the United States passed it word of preparations for a terrorist attack in Moscow through partner channels. The U.S. Embassy says it is aware of a credible threat of a mass-casualty event Saturday at the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve - and the palace park is closed.
The warning ran in a direction the war has made rare: from Washington to Moscow. Russia's Federal Security Service said it had received information from the United States, through established partner channels, about preparations for a terrorist attack in Moscow, and that it was taking appropriate measures, Reuters reported Saturday. The FSB statement did not, in the reporting, name a group, a method or a time beyond the day itself.
The American side spoke in parallel. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said separately that it was "aware of a credible threat of a mass casualty event" on Saturday at Moscow's Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve, and that the U.S. government was coordinating with Russian authorities. The reserve - a palace museum and park complex in the south of the capital - has been temporarily closed and access to the park restricted, the RIA news agency reported, citing Russian law enforcement agencies.
The precedent is what gives the warning its weight. In March 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow warned that extremists had imminent plans for an attack in the capital; days later, gunmen attacked the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, killing more than 140 people. What Saturday's threat amounts to - and whether the closure and the measures the FSB describes have already answered it - is not yet on the record from either government, and this desk reports it as the two statements stand: a warning passed, a park closed, and nothing further confirmed.
