VLADIMIR Putin has cast a ring of steel around ousted fellow dictator Bashar al-Assad as the tyrant marks his first anniversary of his cover-up in Russia.
“Butcher” Assad, known for torturing his enemies, flew out of Syria a year ago on a Russian military plane at the eleventh hour – when he was facing arrest and execution at home.
Putin personally approved the rescue of Assad at the last minute. could use backups and decoy helicopters.
Now there are rumors about where exactly the dictator and his family hiding in RussiaOn December 8 last year, Putin granted refuge to the deposed tyrant, his extended family and key cronies.
The Syrian dictator's family is known to own dozens of skyscraper complexes among the elite. Moscow City business and a residential area bought with money siphoned from Syria before its fall.
Assad lives “in luxury” in Moscow's “retirement military commanders' settlement,” one intelligence source said.
The source suspects the Syrian dictator could be hiding out in one of several heavily guarded Russian government compounds in the capital, guarded by pal Putin.
One such complex, Vorobyovy Gory, is located on Vorobyovy Gory, near the Russian border. Hollywood.
The source said: “This is a place where Assad can be completely safe under the protection of the FSO. [Federal Protection Service] and in luxury.
“There are others outside Moscow, but only people personally approved by Putin live here, and they live here or are kicked out because of his patronage.”
Butcher now kills time by playing infinity video games in the penthouse of the 99-foot tower, reports said.
The dachas here were built for the Soviet elite and used by friendly foreign dictators such as the Cuban ruler. Fidel Castro and probably Assad's own father Hefez during his visits.
Russian intelligence services were tasked with protecting the 60-year-old man from threats to his life, including from the new regime in Damascus, which demanded his extradition.
Despite the Moscow area being littered with facial recognition cameras, a former KGB officer said it was “too public” to properly guard the dictator, even if he also used a rumored country estate.
News The Agency recently discovered that the tenants of the “secret village” include General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces.
Gerasimov moved here shortly before the start of the Russian war with Ukrainefor which he is the supreme commander-in-chief of the Kremlin.
At the same time, former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, now secretary of the powerful Security Council and under threat of Ukrainian assassination, was appointed here.
Oligarch and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich There is also a house in the area.
In October, Assad, who is married to London-born wife Asma al-Assad, was reportedly admitted to hospital in Moscow after poisoning.
A security source in Moscow said: “Kyiv has committed several murders in Russia recently and could claim that his death shows that no one is safe under Putin. We cannot allow this.”
Syrian Observatory Human rights cited a “private source” in an effort to “embarrass the Russian government and accuse it of complicity” in his death.
This was the second time there were reports of poisoning.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov categorically denied the poisoning claim, saying briefly: “He has no problems living in our capital.”
And in recent days, a video has emerged showing Assad walking hand in hand with a mysterious young woman across Moscow's snow-covered Red Square.
But the footage was fake, made with the help of artificial intelligence to humiliate the despot.
Putin has reportedly ruled that no information should be published about Assad or former first lady Asma, 50, who has cancer.
No details about the promised meeting between Putin and Assad have been disclosed – it is unknown whether they met at all.
Kremlin Press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: “We cannot share any information on this matter.”
As Assad remains hidden, his 24-year-old son Hafez has given a dramatic account of the day the family left Syria.
He said: “There was never a plan – not even a backup plan – to leave Damascus, let alone Syria.”
Hafez said his mother was already in Moscow when the rest of the family fled Syria after undergoing a bone marrow transplant at the end of the war. summer.
According to him, on December 7, rumors spread that the family managed to escape.
Hafez said: “In response, I took a photo in Al Nairabain Park in Al Muhajireen area and shared it on my personal account. Instagram check.
“Until then, despite the distant sounds of shelling, nothing seemed unusual – just the familiar reality to which we had become accustomed since the first years of the war.”
According to the dictator's son, the peace was broken early in the morning.
Hafez said: “Everything changed after midnight when a Russian official arrived at our home.”
Hafez denied claims that he and his father left the country without telling his cousins, saying: “I was the one who called them several times as soon as we found out we were moving.”
According to Hafez, the family left for Damascus airport at 3 a.m., finding it “deserted.”
He says they flew on a Russian military plane to Latakia in Syria. The family then attempted to reach the presidential residence, but found that the phones were switched off and “all attempts to contact anyone were unsuccessful.”
When reports of troops retreating from the front line began to arrive, drone attacks began on the base.
It was no longer possible to leave the safety of the place, as the commanders informed the family that “the situation had descended into chaos and all contact with the military leadership had been lost.”
It was then that Putin personally approved the escape: “After consultation with Moscow, the base command informed us that our transfer to Russia had been requested.
“Some time later, we boarded a Russian military plane bound for Moscow, where we landed that night.”
Security expert Will Geddes said the despot may have used body doubles and other tricks to help him escape Syria.
He told The Sun: “President Assad would no doubt already have had an emergency evacuation plan – it would have been planned for many, many years.”
Geddes added that Assad's team wanted to send the rebels on a “wild goose chase” while they pulled out their man.
He said, “They could have the president's car, his favorite limousine, whoever he is, driving away in the opposite direction in Damascus, and sitting in the back would be someone who looks like his wife, who looks like him, or who looks like a family member.”
It is alleged that the evacuation was organized by Putin's spies.
The new Syrian authorities demanded the extradition of Assad, but Russia has so far refused this.
Syria's interim president, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has directly admitted that he demanded Assad's extradition when he met with Putin.
He said: “The Russians have a different situation.” opinion. However, justice must prevail.”
