Laureano Ortega Murillo, son of dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, was granted full powers by his parents to sign the “Agreement between the Government of Nicaragua and the Government of the Donetsk People’s Republic (Russian Federation) on Trade and Economic Cooperation.” Through this accord, Nicaragua recognizes this Ukrainian territory as part of Russian control, in blatant violation of international law.
In doing so, Nicaragua reaffirms its stance of recognizing Donetsk as part of Russia, placing the country on the same level as Syria and North Korea.
Presidential Decree 129-2025, published this Monday in La Gaceta, the official government gazette, granted this authority to Laureano Ortega Murillo in his capacity as “Special Representative of Nicaragua’s Co-Presidents for Affairs with Russia and Presidential Advisor for Investment, Trade, and International Cooperation.”
Unrecognized Territory
Donetsk is part of the Donbas basin, a region that the international community has recognized as belonging to Ukraine since the country declared independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. International law and the United Nations Charter clearly establish that sovereignty over this territory belongs to Ukraine.
In 2014, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, separatist factions politically and militarily backed by Moscow proclaimed the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic,” an entity that never received official recognition beyond Russia’s sphere of influence.
Later, in 2022, Russia declared Donetsk and Luhansk independent, and shortly thereafter claimed they were part of its territory. The United Nations deemed this annexation illegitimate, and for most countries it represents a blatant violation of the principle of territorial integrity.
Ukraine had already protested
This measure comes after, on July 31 of this year, the dictatorship recognized Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia as part of Russia. The decision prompted an immediate reaction from Ukraine, which warned the Ortega-Murillo regime that it would respond “in accordance with the unprecedented level of hostile actions.”
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Experts consulted by LA PRENSA had warned that, as long as the dictatorship did not take further steps—such as the current formal recognition of these territories—Ukraine would not take significant measures. However, the Ortega-Murillo regime reaffirmed its decision to align with Moscow.
