The US embassy in Moscow issued a security alert to American citizens in the Russian capital on Sunday, saying it had learned of a credible threat of a terrorist event that could cause many deaths at the Tsaritsyno palace and park, a museum and tourist site in the south of the city. The embassy said the US government was coordinating its response with the relevant Russian authorities, according to Corriere della Sera.
The Tsaritsyno museum-reserve was temporarily closed the same day, Russian state agencies Tass and Ria Novosti reported. Independent accounts circulating on X said visitors were evacuated quickly and that guards attributed the closure to technical reasons without elaborating. One security guard was quoted as saying staff had simply been told to shut the park for technical grounds. Dozens of police officers reportedly cordoned off the grounds, dog units were deployed and access roads to the garden were closed. Videos shared on X showed police cars with flashing lights at the gates as visitors walked away. The same accounts said the museum would stay shut for at least two days.
Why it matters
The alert lands at a moment when diplomatic efforts to end the war appear stalled. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a press conference he did not know whether a negotiated peace in Ukraine was reachable. "We are trying to find out," he said, adding that he did not think anyone present would claim a negotiated settlement was imminent. His remarks, reported by Corriere della Sera, suggest Washington sees no quick path to talks.
Overnight strikes in both countries
Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region, east of Moscow, came under what its governor, Gleb Nikitin, described as a massive drone attack overnight, with more than one hundred aircraft destroyed. Nikitin said in a statement that there were no initial reports of casualties but that an industrial facility in the Kstovo district had suffered extensive damage. He did not specify what the plant produced. Ukraine, for its part, said it had hit a major oil refinery.
In Kyiv, Russian drones came down in the Darnytskyi, Desnianskyi and Obolonskyi districts, according to the city's military administration, which posted the information on Telegram and was cited by Ukrinform. One drone fell in an open area in Darnytskyi, and a second crash sparked a fire in a non-residential area that spread to several parked vehicles. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said a blaze broke out in a parking lot near the main entrance of a market in Desnianskyi and was put out quickly. Debris from another drone landed inside a shopping centre in Obolonskyi, injuring a 12-year-old girl.
Zelensky's push on air defense and grain
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, writing on social media that the two sides were working to strengthen protection for Ukrainian citizens, the partnership between the two states and concrete diplomatic prospects, with important questions around Black Sea navigation.
Speaking to Ukrainian media in Istanbul, Zelensky said he intended to discuss with individual partners the temporary supply of 10 to 30 air defense missiles each, to be returned once a US package of 500 PAC-3 missiles arrives. He argued such an arrangement would let Ukraine draw on partners' stocks before American deliveries land. He said the US supply had been pushed back by several years because of production constraints and Washington's slow willingness to share missiles from its own inventory, and that the pace would not give Ukrainians adequate protection. He also noted that a significant share of air defense packages is currently going to the Middle East.
At a joint press conference with Erdogan, Zelensky said the two had agreed to work on a new grain corridor in the Black Sea. He said Turkey supports efforts to ensure safe navigation there and to restore normal living conditions, Anadolu reported.
What to watch
Whether the Tsaritsyno alert leads to any confirmed incident, and whether Zelensky's missile-sharing proposal draws commitments from partners, will shape the next phase of both the security and diplomatic tracks.
