Aslan Bzhania, the de facto president of Georgia’s currently Russian-occupied Abkhazia region in the country’s north-west, has been operated on in Moscow, the de facto authorities confirmed to local media earlier this week, claiming his life and health “not at any risk”.

Bzhania suffered a health problem during his visit to Moscow earlier this month due to an exacerbation of urolithiasis.

He was unable to run in de facto elections in the region in 2019 due to his health, with his supporters claiming he had been poisoned. 

Bzhania underwent kidney surgery in one of the Russian clinics last year.