Slovakia's leader shot

Published 15 May 2024 at 21.14

Foreign. Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot several times and his injuries are described as life-threatening.

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Robert Fico was shot outside on Wednesday afternoon in connection with government meeting in the city of Handlova.

He is said to have been hit by several shots, including in the stomach. At a press conference at 8 p.m., the police announced that the prime minister's condition remains critical.

– He is fighting for his life, says Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák.

The first minutes after the attack on Robert #Fico – the prime minister's security guards evacuate him to his motorcade while eyewitnesses hold the shooter

According to preliminary information from Slovak media, Fico was shot multiple times. One to the abdomen, one to the… pic.twitter.com/vhcYPPjjlg

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 15, 2024

According to Kaliňák, there is “no doubt” that it is a “politically motivated attack”.

A suspicious man, who is described as a well-known left-liberal activist and writer, was arrested at the scene immediately after the attack.

Robert Fico came to power last fall after advocating a ceasefire and peace settlement in Ukraine, and he has taken a similar line on the issue to Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary.

In a video message on the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022 Fico stated that the war started already in 2014 with the coup d'état against the popularly elected president Viktor Yanukovych. The coup d'état was carried out in practice by militant neo-Nazi movements supported by the US and foreign liberals.

– This war started back in 2014 with the rampant spread of Ukrainian neo-Nazis. The bottom line is that Russia was tricked into thinking that NATO would not expand further east, and today it goes so far as to open the door for Ukraine to become a member of NATO, Fico said.

Viktor Orban comments on the attack on X:

“I am deeply shocked by the disgusting attack on my friend Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health,” he writes on X.

Several other leaders within the EU have condemned the act, including Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

“An attack on our democratic society”, writes Kristersson on X.