The dictator's last flight: how Assad disappeared with his regime

December 8 was a day that will go down in the history of Syria. The rebels took Damascus. The capital, which for years was a symbol of the strength of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, has now become the arena of the opposition's triumph. The regime, which held the country in an iron grip for decades, fell.

But the biggest intrigue of this day is the fate of Bashar al-Assad himself. It is reported that the Syrian dictator tried to flee the country on a Russian Il-76 military plane. However, as soon as the plane took off, it disappeared from the radar.

What happened? Coincidence or betrayal

"This is not just an accident, it is the end of an entire era. Russia could have taken this step on purpose," says Serhii Danilov, deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. His version sounds like something from a movie, but nothing is impossible in the conditions of big politics.

"There were generals, government officials, people who knew too much on board. It would be a real nightmare for Moscow if Assad or his team started talking about what was going on behind the scenes. The Kremlin definitely did not want these testimonies to reach the international community," the expert adds.

Danilov believes that the plane could have been shot down by S-300 systems, the same ones that Russia has provided to Syria to defend against enemies. Imagine the irony: the weapon that was supposed to protect the regime became the cause of its downfall.

This is not just a plane crash. This is the fall of the dictatorship

The Syrian war, which began as a peaceful protest in 2011, has turned into a decade of chaos. Millions of people lost their homes, thousands died. Assad held on thanks to Russia's support, but even that support did not save his regime.

And now that the rebels are triumphant in Damascus, we can only guess whether Bashar al-Assad is alive. His flight was a last-ditch effort to retain power, but it appears he not only lost his throne, but possibly his life.

This is the ending that was hard to imagine. And this is just the beginning of a new chapter for Syria. And this story is another example of what awaits the most bloodthirsty dictator of our time, who killed hundreds of thousands of peaceful Ukrainians, Vladimir Putin and his army of terrorists and murderers.