The Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, was rushed to hospital following a horrifying assassination attempt that unfolded after a cabinet meeting in Handlova, a town located 118 miles northeast of Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. A Slovak interior ministry spokesman confirmed the shocking incident, revealing that a suspect was apprehended.
Dramatic footage from the scene shows officers and bystanders scrambling to detain a man in the small town within the Prievidza District. The country’s outgoing president, Zuzana Caputova, expressed her horror at the “brutal and ruthless” attack on the Prime Minister, stating: “I am shocked. I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment to recover from the attack,”.
Mr Fico, who leads the populist left-wing Smer-SSD party and returned to power last year, has sustained life-threatening injuries according to a post on his Facebook page. The post reveals that the Slovak PM was “shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition”, and he is being airlifted to the nearby town of Banska Bystrica.
Local journalists reported hearing several shots fired following the cabinet meeting, with witnesses recounting how they saw Mr Fico collapse to the ground.
Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has expressed his deep shock at the “heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico”. Similarly, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala described the shooting as “shocking” and extended wishes for Fico’s speedy recovery.
Mr Fico, who won the vote last October with promises to halt military aid to Ukraine, has denied being pro-Russian. He was previously compelled to resign as prime minister following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018.
During his campaign, Mr Fico told his supporters: “If Smer enters government, we will not send a single round of ammunition to Ukraine.”
The father-of-one also vowed to resist Western sanctions on Russia.
