Ukraine said it has destroyed part of an armed Russian convoy that made its way across a section of the border heavily guarded by separatists, government officials said Friday.
"Much of this equipment was destroyed by the Ukrainian military at night," President Petro Poroshenko said according to the news agency Ukrinform.
A spokesman from Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council also confirmed that "appropriate active actions were made and a part of the column does not exist now."
As the armored trucks were destroyed, nearly 300 Russian trucks allegedly filled with humanitarian aid for residents in rebel-controlled areas remained sitting near Russia's border with Ukraine. Officials from the capital Kiev blocked the trucks from entering Ukraine fearing it might be a ploy from Russia to launch a military invasion, Reuters reported.
On Friday, Moscow allowed Ukrainian border officials to enter Russia near the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky to inspect the caravan of trucks, which were apparently re-painted white before they left a Russian military base on Tuesday.
Russia has responded by accusing Ukraine of blocking efforts to let aid into the country by continuing the battle against pro-Russian separatists, according to Bloomberg. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow called for a ceasefire to allow 2,000 tons of aid to reach the thousands of eastern Ukrainians displaced by months of fighting in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Despite Russia's claims, the West and Ukraine continue to express fears of a Russian invasion. Some 40,000 Russian troops are believed to be stationed at the border and Kiev has repeatedly claimed Moscow is supplying the rebels with weapons and funding, Reuters reported.
Russia said the troops are only there for military exercises and will not cross over, Reuters reported.
