A video of the expansion of the Ochamchira naval base of the Russian FSS Border Guard Service in self-proclaimed Abkhazia has been posted online.

The video was released by the Georgian TV channel TV Pirveli.

The video, most likely taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle, shows the finished part of the base and the process of its expansion.

It can be assumed that this base is being transferred or has already been transferred to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and its infrastructure is being expanded to accommodate more personnel and larger ships.

The Black Sea Fleet Base in Abkhazia

In October 2023, Militarnyi reported that Russia planned to create a naval base on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, the occupied territory of the Republic of Georgia.

Aslan Bzhania, the leader of the unrecognized region, shared this with the Russian Izvestia newspaper a day after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bzhania claimed that an agreement on a permanent naval base location in the Ochamchira district had been signed.

Russia occupied Abkhazia as a result of a hybrid war against Georgia in 1992-1994, and it has since been controlled by the Kremlin through puppet governments.

Russia recognizes Abkhazia’s “independence” after its direct military invasion of Georgia in 2008.

Economically and politically, Abkhazia is completely dependent on Russia.

Georgia considers Abkhazia a part of its territory that is occupied by Russia.

The decision to create a base for the Russian Navy in Abkhazia may be due to the fact that the temporarily occupied Sevastopol is no longer a safe harbor for Russian ships, and the relocation of the fleet to Novorossiysk may lead to the port’s inability to operate as a channel for Russian oil exports.