Russia’s first flight landed at Sokhumi Airport in Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia on Friday.
The flight, operated by Russian airline YUVT Aero, carried Badra Gunba, the so-called presidential candidate of the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia. The news was shared across Abkhazian Telegram channels.
This test flight was announced by Moscow on February 6 and followed up on plans disclosed by Sergei Kiriyenko, the new Russian curator of occupied Abkhazia. Kiriyenko had stated earlier in February that “regular flights” would begin in May to coincide with the tourist season.
The test flight marks a step in Russia’s ongoing efforts to expand its influence over Abkhazia. Moscow had already initiated the reconstruction of the Sokhumi airport in October 2023 through a deal with LLC “Infrastructure Development,” owned by Rashid Nurgaliev, a close ally of the Russian government.
In 2019, the so-called Abkhazian government declared Sokhumi Airport a “joint aerodrome” and assigned it the code “URAS,” aligning it with Russian aviation standards. This move was met with strong opposition from Georgia, which maintains that international air traffic at Sokhumi Airport can only occur with its permission.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) removed the airport’s code in 2006 and has not reassigned one since, highlighting the region’s contentious status. ICAO has clarified that such codes can only be granted upon approval by the recognized aviation authority of the country where the airport is located – in this case, Georgia.
