Following a shooting during an “attempted assassination,” Robert Fico, the populist prime minister of Slovakia, was listed as critically ill on Wednesday, according to his office.
Fico was shot multiple times and is in a life-threatening condition, according to an update on his Facebook page.
It stated that because “it would take too long considering the urgency of the matter,” he was being transported to a hospital in Banská Bystrica rather than the nation’s capital, Bratislava.
Shortly after the news leaked, the nation’s president acknowledged the attack.
“Very horrified by the vicious and thoughtless assault on #Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, which I strongly denounce,” Zuzana Čaputová posted on X. “I’m wishing him strength during this trying time and a speedy recovery. She continued, “My thoughts are also with his family and close friends.
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Fico was shot and hurt, according to Lubos Blaha, vice-chairman of the nation’s parliament in central Europe, which Slovak news agency TASR reported.
The town of Handlova, which is located roughly 110 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava, was the scene of multiple gunshots, according to a TASR reporter. According to the news agency, Fico was extending greetings to the public following a government meeting.
The reports have not been independently confirmed by NBC News.
Images on news agencies seemed to show a man in custody in Handlova. Another man was seen being carried into a car by security personnel wearing dark suits in footage that was taken at the scene and posted on social media.
With a pro-Russian and anti-American populist platform, Fico was elected leader of the leftist Smer party in October of last year.
Before taking up the position again last year as part of a power-sharing agreement with two other parties, the seasoned politician had held the position twice.
Fico has joined forces with Hungary’s right-wing authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban, to oppose Western backing for Kyiv and to withdraw support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Hungary is Slovakia’s southern neighbor.
In a post on X, President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, vehemently denounced the attack.
She declared, “Such violent acts undermine democracy, our most precious common good, and have no place in our society.”
Slovakia is a member of the EU.
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