Three people have been killed and 15 others injured in an explosion near an outdoor cafe at Kudrinskaya Square in central Moscow, according to the Moscow branch of the Russian Interior Ministry.

"Officers of the Moscow branch of the Russian Interior Ministry are working at the scene near 1 Kudrinskaya Square. An explosion occurred near an outdoor cafe at about 20:10 Moscow time [17:10 GMT] today, killing three people and injuring 15 others, according to preliminary information," the ministry said in a statement.

Later, Russian Health Ministry aide Alexey Kuznetsov told RIA Novosti that all those injured in the explosion are receiving the necessary medical care.

This comes as Russia continues to advance in Ukraine, amid intensified fighting and exchanges of fire between Moscow and Kiev.

Russian forces take 32 localities in July, Defense Ministry reports

Russian forces took control of 32 localities in the "special military operation zone" during July, according to Russian Defense Ministry data.

Of these 32 localities, 12 were in the Kharkov Region, 11 in the Donetsk People's Republic, four in the Sumy Region, three in the Dnepropetrovsk Region, and two in the Zaporizhzhia Region, according to RIA Novosti's calculations based on Defense Ministry data.

The Donetsk People's Republic accounted for the bulk of the 128 settlements Russian forces took over in the first half of the year, the data showed.

Air Defenses intercept over 21,000 Ukrainian drones in July

Russian air defenses also shot down more than 21,000 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory in July, with the highest single-day totals recorded on July 24 and July 25, at 937 and 1,060, respectively, according to the Defense Ministry.

Most of the intercepted drones targeted the European part of Russia. That figure adds to the at least 63,993 drones Russian air defenses reported downing over Russian territory in the first half of 2026.

Overnight interceptions reported across wide swath of territory

Russian air defenses destroyed 274 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight, between 20:00 Moscow time on July 31 and 7:00 Moscow time on August 1, the Defense Ministry added.

The intercepted drones were reported over a wide swath of Russian territory, including the Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, and Tula regions, as well as the Moscow region, Crimea, the Krasnodar Territory, and the Azov and Black seas.