Slovakia PM in ‘very serious’ condition after assasination attempt

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico's condition is "very serious" following an assassination attempt that has garnered international condemnation and shocked the nation, a government official has said. 

The 59-year-old prime minister sustained five gunshot wounds in Handlova's central town following a government meeting on Wednesday. He was critically injured and required extensive emergency surgery that lasted for several hours.

Fico was speaking but tired and still in a "really difficult condition", president-elect Peter Pellegrini said after visiting his ally.

"He is able to speak but only a few sentences and then he is really, really tired... The situation is very critical," he told reporters outside the hospital. 

After the assault, Fico was quickly taken to a hospital in Handlova, and then promptly airlifted to the regional capital, Banska Bystrica, for immediate medical care.

“During the night, doctors managed to stabilize the patient’s condition,” Slovakia's Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak, who is also the defense minister, said on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the condition is still very serious as the injuries are complicated,” he added.

During a press conference, Miriam Lapunikova, the director of F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital in Banska Bystrica, expressed the severity of Fico's condition, emphasizing that his condition "is truly very serious" as he “had multiple gunshot wounds, the consequences of which will affect his recovery”.

“At this point, his condition has stabilized, but it is truly very serious, and therefore he will remain in the intensive care unit,” she added.

Earlier, another deputy prime minister, Tomas Taraba, said that Fico’s surgery was successful and he is expected to recover.

Taraba said the prime minister was shot "from very close" and that "one bullet went through the stomach and the second one hit the joint."

The suspect, who was wrestled at the scene of the shooting, is a 71-year-old writer and former security guard, who has been charged with attempted murder. 

He was among a small group of Fico followers congregated outside a cultural center in Handlova, where Fico was conducting a meeting. 

The incident was described by Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estoka as a “politically motivated” assassination attempt.

Fico has called for the cessation of military assistance to Ukraine and the removal of sanctions on Russia.

Upon resuming office as prime minister in October, his administration has reduced aid to Ukraine, initiated talks with Russia, attempted to reduce penalties for corruption, and is restructuring the RTVS public broadcaster.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pledged on Thursday to "fight for peace alone" in the European Union following the assassination attempt on his political ally.

Orban, like Fico, advocates peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and the Hungarian leader characterizes next month's European elections as a referendum on the issue.

He has condemned what he says is the EU's fueling of the war in Ukraine through their support of Kiev.

"Today we must fight for peace alone... with twice the strength," Orban said in a post on Facebook.

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