MOSCOW, Oct 5 (AFP) - The Russian navy will establish a base on the Black Sea coast of the Georgian separatist region Abkhazia, its leader told Russian media Thursday, as Ukraine steps up attacks on Moscow's fleet.

"We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent point of deployment for the Russian navy in the Ochamchire district," the leader of separatist Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, told the Russian tabloid, Izvestia.

Photo from Bloomberg