Foreign armed men and resignation of state security chief – new political crisis unfolds in Abkhazia
Abkhazia’s state security chief resigns
Acting President of Abkhazia, Valery Bganba, has dismissed the head of the State Security Service (SGB), Dmitry Kuchuberiya. According to supporters of presidential candidate Badra Gunba, this move violates the November agreement between the authorities and the opposition.
In November 2024, the Abkhaz opposition forced the resignation of then-President Aslan Bzhania and Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab on the condition that all other government members remain in place until a new president is elected.
The first round of the presidential election in Abkhazia took place on February 15, 2025, with pro-government candidate Badra Gunba and opposition leader Adgur Ardzinba advancing to the final round. The dismissal of Dmitry Kuchuberiya appears to be connected to events that unfolded on election day.
However, Acting President Valery Bganba only hinted at this in a vague statement:
“The State Security Service plays an important role. There are people in our country today whom we do not know, we do not know what they are doing or what their objectives are…”
In contrast, Adgur Ardzinba was more explicit:
“This is not about politics—during the election campaign and on voting day, several dozen armed individuals, who are not citizens of Abkhazia, were spotted. There is information suggesting they are representatives of a private military company.
We repeatedly called on law enforcement agencies to respond and expel from Abkhazia those who are here for unclear purposes.”
Supporters of Badra Gunba remain silent on the reports of armed foreigners (likely Russians) but have expressed strong outrage over Dmitry Kuchuberiya’s dismissal. On the evening of February 17, several hundred activists gathered outside Gunba’s campaign headquarters.
They believe that Acting President Valery Bganba is destabilizing the republic ahead of the second round of the presidential election, scheduled for March 1.
Bganba, however, insists that he did not violate any agreements, arguing that the head of the State Security Service (SSS) is not a government member but reports directly to the president.
Furthermore, he accused Gunba of breaking the same agreement. Initially, Gunba was supposed to serve as acting president until the elections, but after deciding to run, he stepped down from the interim role. As a result, Bganba, from the opposition camp, assumed the position of acting head of state.
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Abkhazia’s state security chief resigns
