Ukrainian navy officer injured in car explosion in Odesa VIDEO/UPDATED

A senior officer with the Ukrainian Navy, Vyacheslav Sazonov, was injured in a car explosion in the southern city of Odesa.

The injured man was identified as a senior officer serving in the Operations Department of the Logistics Directorate at the Ukrainian Navy Command Headquarters, Caliber.Az reports, citing Strana.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has classified the explosion as a terrorist attack and opened a criminal investigation into the incident.

12:04

A military-owned vehicle exploded in the courtyard of a residential apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, injuring the driver, according to the regional department of Ukraine's National Police.

Authorities said the 49-year-old driver was injured after the explosion occurred as he started the engine and began moving the vehicle, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

The relatively low power of the explosive device allowed him to survive with only minor injuries.

Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that the vehicle was a BMW X5 belonging to a member of the military.

It remains unclear whether the owner was behind the wheel at the time of the explosion.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov