Ukraine and Russia on Saturday appeared to be seeking to avoid a broader confrontation in the wake of Kiev's claim it destroyed most of a Russian military convoy that entered its territory, as the European Union intensified its efforts to bring the two countries to the negotiating table.

Col. Andriy Lysenko, the Ukrainian government's security spokesman, said Saturday that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed most of a Russian column of military vehicles that entered the country earlier in the week. But he described the episode as a commonplace incident, refused to release further details and gave no indication that it marked the start of a more direct military engagement between Russia and Ukraine.

"This was a traditional route of movement of armored convoys to the territory of Ukraine, and the Ukraine military were able to destroy most of those convoys," Col. Lysenko said.

(Ukraine crisis: Rebels shoot down fighter jet.)

No photographs have surfaced of the aftermath of the attack, which Russia's Defense Ministry dismissed on Friday as "some kind of fantasy." The claim, marking the most direct and publicized military clash between Russia and Ukraine since the conflict began, jolted global markets Friday.