The federal government workplace couldn’t instantly be reached for remark
Handlova:
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was battling life-threatening wounds Wednesday after officers stated he was shot a number of instances in an assassination try condemned by European leaders.
Dramatic footage from the scene in central Slovakia exhibits safety brokers grabbing a wounded Fico from the bottom and hustling him right into a black automobile that speeds away as police handcuff an individual on the pavement.
Police detained the suspected gunman on the web site of assault in Handlova, outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Caputova instructed reporters after the seemingly unprecedented act of violence in opposition to a Slovak prime minister.
“I’m shocked, we’re all shocked by the horrible and heinous assault,” she added.
⚡️⚡️⚡️ The primary minutes after the assault on Robert #Fico – the prime minister’s safety guards evacuate him to his motorcade whereas eyewitnesses maintain the shooter
In line with preliminary info from Slovak media, Fico was shot a number of instances. One to the stomach, one to the… pic.twitter.com/vhcYPPjjlg
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) Might 15, 2024
Fico was shot a number of instances, stated a put up on his official Fb web page.
“Right this moment, after the federal government assembly in Handlova, there was an assassination try” on Fico, the federal government stated, including he was flown to hospital “in a life-threatening situation”.
Photos from public tv RTVS confirmed an individual on a stretcher taken out of a helicopter by medics and wheeled right into a hospital.
Handlova native hospital director Marta Eckhardtova stated “Fico was introduced into our hospital and he was handled at our vascular surgical procedure clinic”.
She was unable to explain his accidents.
The Dennik N every day reported that Fico was nonetheless within the working room after being taken to the hospital earlier than 1400 GMT.
Fico, whose Smer-SD social gathering gained the final election final September, is a four-time prime minister and a political veteran accused of swaying his nation’s overseas coverage in favour of the Kremlin.
Native media reported that the suspected gunman was a 71-year-old author, however police haven’t title any suspects.
“I’ve completely no concept what father was considering, what he was planning, why it occurred,” the alleged suspect’s son instructed Slovak information web site aktuality.sk.
Analyst Grigorij Meseznikov instructed AFP “there was no (earlier) assault on any minister or prime minister in Slovakia.”
“I solely keep in mind the case of former minister of financial system Jan Ducky who was shot useless in 1999,” he added. “However he had not been politically lively anymore when he was killed.”
Assault condemned
Slovak president-elect and Fico ally Peter Pellegrini stated he discovered of the taking pictures “with horror”.
“An assassination try on one of many highest constitutional officers is an unprecedented risk to Slovak democracy,” he added on X, previously Twitter.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen denounced the “vile assault” whereas NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stated he was “shocked and appalled”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the “appalling” taking pictures and wished Fico a speedy restoration.
Russian President Vladimir Putin known as the taking pictures a “heinous crime”.
“I do know Robert Fico to be a brave and strong-spirited man. I very a lot hope that these qualities will assist him to resist this troublesome state of affairs,” Putin stated in a press release launched by the Kremlin.
Ukraine remarks
In addition to his present stint as premier, Fico additionally headed the federal government in 2006-10 and 2012-18.
Since he assumed workplace final October, Fico has made a string of remarks which have soured ties between Slovakia and neighbouring Ukraine.
He has notably questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty and known as for a compromise with Russia, which invaded in 2022.
After he was elected, Slovakia stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. He pledged through the electoral marketing campaign to not present Kyiv with “a single bullet”.
He additionally sparked mass protests with controversial modifications, together with a media legislation that critics say will undermine the impartiality of public tv and radio.
At a press convention following the taking pictures, MP Lubos Blaha from Fico’s social gathering lashed out in opposition to his critics.
“You, the liberal media, and progressive politicians are in charge. Robert Fico is combating for his life due to your hatred,” Blaha stated.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
