Story perspectives

Ukraine sinks 105 Russian ships as Kremlin slams Paris coalition

7/15/2026

Center

Peskov slams coalition

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Paris gathering of 30 nations supporting Ukraine a ‘coalition of warmongers’ and dismissed aims.
Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov between July 6 and July 13 to isolate Crimea.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said firmly Russia should not shape Ukraine’s security guarantees.
The Kremlin replied guarantees are impossible without Russian participation.

Right

Merz Bars Russia

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared Russia should have no role in shaping Ukraine’s security guarantees.
President Vladimir Putin met Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the Kremlin, where the statements were delivered.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called EU sanctions on VK’s MAX messaging app absurd and ineffective.
Ukraine says it needs Western security guarantees as Russia controls roughly one-fifth of its territory.

History

Historical Context

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, signed in 1994, pledged respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty after it gave up its nuclear arsenal. The United States, United Kingdom, and Russia each signed, and Ukraine transferred roughly 1,700 nuclear warheads to Russia by 1996. Today, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dispute new security guarantees, echoing the 1994 pledge’s collapse after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The breakdown fuels a renewed coalition of Western nations demanding Russia’s exclusion from any future Ukrainian security framework, intensifying diplomatic stalemate.

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Peskov slams coalition

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Paris gathering of 30 nations supporting Ukraine a ‘coalition of warmongers’ and dismissed aims.
Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov between July 6 and July 13 to isolate Crimea.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said firmly Russia should not shape Ukraine’s security guarantees.
The Kremlin replied guarantees are impossible without Russian participation.

1 / 3