Free Republic

BASHAR al-Assad has broken his silence to claim Vladimir Putin forced him into a cowardly escape from Syria - but he wanted to stay and fight. The ousted tyrant released a statement from Moscow, insisting he had to flee after the Russian base he was hiding in began to be bombed. Assad dished out fighting talk from the safety of his bolthole in the Russian capital, saying the only course of action had been to stay and fight - before he then left. The statement was published today on the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel and was Assad's first public comment...

THIS is the moment Vladimir Putin's gas rigs in the Black Sea burst into flames after being hammered by sea drones. Ukrainian forces strike the platforms in daring night raids using the unmanned craft as the seek to dominate the ocean and defend against Russia. The latest footage released by the valiant Ukrainians shows a number of strikes on the rigs which they believe are used to house surveillance equipment. The sea drones attack the structures at their base while air drones strike the platform. Clips show rigs engulfed in massive blazes while others show huge explosions on the platforms...

DONALD Trump's reported plan to end the Ukraine war has emerged after Zelensky held a call congratulating the president-elect. -snip- Trump would freeze the conflict in place and establish a demilitarised zone down the locked front line, the Wall Street Journal now reports. Kyiv would not join Nato for 20 years, but the US would continue to arm Ukraine to the teeth to prevent Putin from invading again. Who would police the demilitarised zone remains unclear, according to the sources, but it wouldn't involve American troops or an international body. -snip- "We are not sending American men and women to...

VLADIMIR Putin's cursed naval flagship is unlikely to ever sail again after he sent its crew to fight in the war in Ukraine. The Admiral Kuznetsov is the tyrant's only aircraft carrier and has not been in service for eight years. Desperate Vlad has now designated some of the rustbucket's 1,500 crew members as cannon fodder for his brutal invasion. The seamen have formed a land-based "frigate" battalion within Russia's 1st Guards Tank Army, according to OSINT investigator Moklasen. Some of them have already gone missing or died, Forbes reported. Putin had wanted the 305-metre-long Soviet-era warship to play a...

RUSSIA is scrambling to build trenches around Kursk nuclear plant as it fears Ukraine could capture its reactors. Satellite photos show new lines in the earth near the power station as Vladimir Putin's armed forces fail to halt the brave advance. Ukraine's troops have now spent six days inside the Russian homeland replacing flags, taking POWs, and capturing territory. Ukraine's army have reportedly managed to infiltrate as deep as 20km into Russian territory leaving Putin "scared and seething" over the continuous attacks. Russia is scrambling to build fortifications around the atomic facility which is 100km from the border with Ukraine....

THIS is the moment a devastating Ukrainian missile bombardment killed 400 of Vladimir Putin's soldiers inside Russia. The footage shows HIMARS pounding a convoy and Russian troops sprinting for their lives near Rylsk, in the Kursk region. Putin's war machine was rushing to halt a surprise Ukrainian offensive launched two days ago into Russia, reports say. Ukraine's brave strike across the border has caught the Russians off-guard and captured a number of villages miles into the country. New black and white footage of the strike shows explosions mushrooming one after the other as HIMARS missiles hit the column of stationary...

VENEZUELA may descend into civil war as its Putin-backed dictator has warned of a "bloodbath" if he loses tomorrow's election. President Nicolas Maduro, 61, has ruled the South American country for 11 years and is set to do whatever it takes to cling on to power. The autocrat has become increasingly unpopular; the country's economy has shrunk 80 percent in a decade, seen massive hyperinflation and skyrocketing poverty.