Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico ‘in life-threatening condition’ after being shot

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot a number of times in what officials are calling an assassination attempt.

He is in a life-threatening condition, according to an update on his official social media account.

Local reports say Fico was hit in the stomach, arm and leg – a witness tells the BBC she heard three shots.

His alleged assailant has been detained by the police.

Fico was wounded as he left a government meeting in the central town of Handlova.

The populist prime minister won a general election last September and has faced widespread criticism for polarizing politics in the central European nation with pro-Russian comments and a push to extend state control over the media.

Milan Nic, a former adviser to Slovakia’s deputy foreign minister, says the political climate in Slovakia has been polarised for a number of years, adding: “I’m sorry to say that this was coming.”

“This is not an isolated incident unfortunately,” Nic told the BBC.

Below is the reaction of other European leaders:

• Polish prime minister Donald Tusk addressed Fico directly in a post on X, saying his “thoughts are with you in this very difficult moment”
• Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas wished Fico a “speedy recovery”, adding that “an attack against an elected leader is also an attack against the very idea of democracy”
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky labelled the attack “appalling” and demanded that efforts be made “to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere”
• Ireland’s foreign minister Micheál Martin said this “vile” and “reckless” shooting is a “direct attack on democracy itself”
• Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg added that his “thoughts are with Robert Fico, his loved ones, and the people of Slovakia”