Nicaragua ratifies military pact with Russia as Moscow recruits foreign fighters for Ukraine

Russia has built a recruitment system that has drawn about 27,000 foreign combatants from more than 130 countries to fight in its war in Ukraine, according to a joint report by the International Federation for Human Rights, Truth Hounds and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights. The scheme mixes voluntary enlistment with deceptive or forced enlistment of economically vulnerable individuals, including large numbers from Latin America such as Cuba, Colombia, Peru and El Salvador, and NGOs say Nicaraguans may also be among those sent to the front lines.

In a parallel development, Nicaragua’s Ortega regime formally ratified a series of agreements with Russia covering military cooperation, technical assistance, cartographic work and biological‑security collaboration. The pact, described as an open challenge to the United States, deepens the strategic partnership between the two governments and underscores the broader alignment of Nicaragua with Moscow amid the conflict in Ukraine.