Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico shot and critically injured

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and critically injured in an assassination attempt that the country's interior minister says was politically motivated.

The 59-year-old left-wing nationalist politician was flown to hospital by helicopter after the bloody attack in the town of Handlová on Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses reported on television that five shots were fired in front of the House of Culture in Handlová, some 192 kilometres north-east of the capital Bratislava.

They said the attack occurred as Fico went outside to shake hands. One shot hit him in the chest. The local television station RTV Prievidza published a video of the incident showing a man pushing against the fence and shooting at the prime minister from close range.

Prime minister remains in critical condition

The Slovak leader was flown to hospital and underwent emergency surgery, but as of Wednesday evening his condition remained critical.

Fighting back tears, Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák called Fico's condition "extremely serious." Kaliňák is one of Fico's deputies in the party and government.

Attacker says he disagreed with Fico's policy

Police announced that they had detained the attacker whom Slovak TV channel TA3 reported is said to be Juraj C., a former employee of a private security service. This was not officially confirmed at first.

Despite an information embargo, the broadcaster was able to obtain a video recording from a police station. In it, the dazed-looking suspected attacker said: "I don't agree with government policy."

In a slurred voice, he cited the government's plan to shut down the public radio and television station RTVS, against which thousands of people have been demonstrating for weeks, as a concrete example.

Slovak politicians decry the current atmosphere

Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok announced increased police protection for politicians and journalists. At the same time, he called on the media, politicians from all camps, and the public to stop "inciting hatred against political opponents on social media."

President Zuzana Čaputová said that the attack was also an attack on democracy. "Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we have witnessed in society leads to hateful actions. Please, let's stop this."

Despite her popularity, the liberal president did not run for a second term in office because, in her own words, she "no longer has the strength" after years of political crises and several changes of government. The climate between the government and the opposition is considered poisoned.

Outrage and sympathy expressed by world leaders

Shortly after the news broke on Wednesday afternoon expressions of shock and support started pouring in from leaders across the globe.

US President Joe Biden has condemned the shooting as a "horrific act of violence."

He and his wife Jill were praying for Fico's speedy recovery, Biden wrote in a statement released by the White House on Wednesday.

"Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia," the statement continued.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the shooting "in the strongest terms" and called it shocking.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X that he was "deeply shocked by the news of the cowardly attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also writing on X, called the attack "appalling" and said "every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere." Zelensky wrote on the social network X on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination attempt "a despicable crime," in a message from the Russian leader to his Slovakian counterpart Zuzana Čaputová.

Fico's relations with Russia controversial

Political opponents repeatedly accuse Fico of taking "Russia-friendly" positions amid Putin's war against Ukraine,

Relations between Slovakia, an EU and NATO member state, and its neighbour Ukraine cooled noticeably when the left-wing nationalist Fico won the parliamentary elections in autumn and returned to power. During the election campaign, Fico had announced that he no longer wanted to supply Ukraine with weapons.

Just a few days ago, Fico had accused the liberal opposition of fuelling a climate of hostility against his government. He said that it could not be ruled out that the heated atmosphere could lead to violence at some point.

The founder and leader of the Smer-SSD left-wing party, which has recently become increasingly nationalistic, has been one of Slovakia's most popular politicians for almost 30 years. At the same time, however, he polarizes more than almost anyone else.

Opponents call him "pro-Russian" and accuse him of wanting to lead Slovakia on a similar course to Viktor Orbán's Hungary.

Fico is controversial in Europe because of his often exaggerated statements on the EU's Ukraine and Russia policy. During the election campaign for the parliamentary elections in autumn 2023, which he won, he caused a stir by announcing that he wanted to supply "not a cartridge" of weapons to Ukraine.

In fact, however, Slovakia has supported all EU sanctions against Russia since Fico's return to government in October and has also agreed to all EU aid for Ukraine - including the use of frozen Russian funds for Ukraine and support for Ukraine's accession to the EU - but not to NATO.

Contrary to misleading media reports, Fico does not reject sanctions against Russia in principle. However, he has said that some of them harm Slovakia, which is dependent on Russian gas, oil and uranium, more than Russia itself. Instead, he is calling for sanctions that hit Russia harder.