Putin fires barb at deposed Assad & brags he won’t be ‘defeated & broken’ in first speech since granting him asylum

VLADIMIR Putin has aimed a thinly-veiled jibe at pal Assad after his humiliating fall from power in Syria.

The Russian despot gloated about his invincibility and said he wouldn't be defeated or broken - unlike his Syrian counterpart who is now cowering in Moscow.

Putin personally granted political asylum to Bashar al Assad yesterday after he was forced to flee Syria.

Rebels toppled his brutal government after a 10-day blitz across the country which culminated in a siege on capital Damascus.

Assad escaped by helicopter on Sunday - heading straight for the Kremlin where his pal Putin has granted refuge to him and his family.

Speaking at an awards ceremony for soldiers fighting his illegal war in Ukraine, Putin today vowed that he would not be defeated like Assad whose army failed to fight off insurgents.

He entirely ruled out the prospect of war ending in defeat which could see him ousted.

"No one will be able to conquer or break Russia. We have truth, strength of arms and fortitude on our side," he said.

It marked Vlad's first public comments since Assad's epic downfall.

Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov officially confirmed on Monday that Putin had granted asylum to Assad, telling reporters that the despot had made the call himself.

He also said Russia had "nothing to say about Assad's whereabouts".

Syrian rebels decimated Assad's government after 24 years of violent rule - with gleeful rebels dancing in Damascus.

Delighted fighters posted footage from inside Assad's presidential palace - looting through his luxury belongings and tearing the building apart.

And on Monday morning leader of the armed rebels, Mohammad al-Jolani, proclaimed victory during a speech from inside an ancient Damascus mosque.

Putin puppet Peskov said the astonishing development in Syria "surprised the whole world", adding that Russia was "no exception."

Moscow's foreign ministry said yesterday they were "following the dramatic events in Syria with extreme concern."

Meanwhile a group of men at the Syrian embassy in Moscow raised the opposition flag on Monday morning, AFP reported.

They sang and cheered from the balcony underneath the green, white and black flag with red stars.

Russian firepower has long been a key pillar in holding Assad in power.

Putin sent thousands of troops to the country in 2015 to help the evil leader maintain his iron-grasp on power amid civil war.

He saved the dictator - dubbed the Butcher of Damascus - from looming collapse.

In return Assad granted Russia almost 50-year long leases on military bases - including an air base in Hmeimim and a naval base in Tartous.

It gave Russia a key foothold in the Middle East - an area now being rocked by further turmoil involving another Russian ally - Iran.

Addressing the Russian bases in Syria - Peskov said it was too early to tell what could happen to them.