Slovakia PM Robert Fico in critical condition after being shot
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot multiple times and critically injured in a “politically motivated” assassination attempt, according to the interior minister.
Fico, 59, was shot by a gunman five times on Wednesday and underwent several hours of emergency surgery.
Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC he believed the operation had gone well.
I guess in the end he will survive,” Taraba told the British broadcaster’s Newshour programme. “He’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.”
Taraba said one bullet went through Fico’s stomach and a second hit a joint.
Earlier on Wednesday, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told a briefing outside the hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica that the prime minister was in a life-threatening condition.
The shooting took place after Fico left a government meeting. He was rushed to hospital in the town and later taken by helicopter to Banska Bystrica for urgent treatment.
The attack comes three weeks ahead of crucial European Parliament elections, in which populist and right-wing parties in the 27-nation bloc appear poised to make gains.
European leaders, from Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, expressed shock at the shooting.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the assault.
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