A targeted car bombing carried out in a central residential area of Odesa late Saturday evening, May 23, has prompted a high-priority counter-terrorism investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The improvised explosive device detonated shortly before midnight on Universytetska Street, located within the city’s prominent Primorskyi district. The force of the targeted blast severely mangled the vehicle – a Volkswagen sedan – and triggered an immediate cabin fire, shattering windows in nearby residential buildings and panicking neighborhood residents.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Two passengers wounded in target blast in Odesa Emergency medical teams and State Emergency Service (DSNS) firefighters arrived at the scene to find the vehicle engulfed in thick smoke. Two individuals who were inside the car at the exact moment of the detonation managed to escape the burning wreckage before first responders arrived. Both victims sustained various shrapnel lacerations and concussions from the primary shockwave. Paramedics stabilized the wounded passengers at the scene before rushing them to a local hospital, where they are currently receiving emergency medical treatment. Specialized police criminologists, counter-intelligence officers, and pyrotechnic squads immediately cordoned off the street to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation. Investigators are currently sifting through the charred debris to recover components of the explosive device, wire fragments, and chemical residues to determine how the bomb was constructed and detonated.