Slovakia’s prime minister expected to survive after shooting

Tomáš Taraba speaks with journalists before a constituent session of the new Slovak parliament in Bratislava, Slovakia, on October 25, 2023.

Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister Tomáš Taraba said he believes Prime Minister Robert Fico will survive Wednesday’s assassination attempt and is “not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.”

“Fortunately, as far as I know, the operation went well and I guess in the end he will survive,” Taraba said in an interview with the BBC’s Newshour program.

Taraba said the prime minister “was heavily injured” with one bullet entering his stomach and another hitting the joints.

“Immediately he was transported to the hospital and then to the operation,” he said.

A video circulating on social media appears to show the moment Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot in the town of Handlova on Wednesday.

The footage appears to show Fico, surrounded by a team of at least four security guards in dark suits, walking toward a crowd of people standing behind metal barriers. 

A man in the crowd behind the barriers is seen lunging toward Fico with what appears to be a gun, which he is pointing at the prime minister.

Five shots are heard in the video. People in the crowd don’t appear to know what is happening.

Fico falls to the ground and the man with the weapon is apprehended and pushed to the ground by the men in dark suits. Other men are seen running in Fico’s direction.

Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia’s minister of defense, said that Fico “suffered multiple injuries,” but did not provide any details when reporters asked if the prime minister was shot in the stomach.

Slovaks have been deeply divided over the country’s direction and position in the world since Prime Minister Robert Fico was reelected last year. Supporters see Fico as a caring leader who has their interests at heart while critics say he is a populist whose pro-Russian leanings pose major risks for the country.

Since taking the top job in October, Fico has brought about a major pivot in Slovakia’s foreign policy and its previously staunch support for Ukraine. He pledged an immediate end to military support for Kyiv against the Russian invasion and promised to block Ukraine’s ambitions of joining NATO.

Domestically, his coalition government is also pushing controversial reforms that have led to weeks of large-scale peaceful protests. Attempts to overhaul the criminal justice system have been particularly controversial as the government seeks to reduce penalties for corruption. It has already abolished Slovakia’s special prosecutor’s office, which was tasked with investigating serious and politically sensitive corruption cases, including some that involved people connected to Fico and his party SMER (“Direction – Social Democracy”).

The Slovakian government is also trying to shut down public service broadcaster RTVS, planning to replace it with a new national broadcaster that would be under tighter government control.

Before his stunning political comeback last year, Fico had spent more than a decade as prime minister. He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests sparked by the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak had reported on corruption among the country’s elite.

This year’s tightly contested presidential election saw Fico cement his grip on power as his ally Peter Pellegrini was elected into the role.

Robert Fico walks during the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on April 18.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is undergoing surgery after being shot five times Wednesday in an assassination attempt, according to officials.

The gunman is in custody and no one else was injured in the attack, they said.

Fico won a third term as Slovakian prime minister last October after running a campaign that criticized Western support for Ukraine.

Here’s what we know:

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico a “monstrous crime.”

“There can be no justification for this monstrous crime,” Putin said in a message sent to Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova.

The Russian leader also said he knows Fico as “a courageous and strong-willed man,” the qualities that Putin hopes will help Fico overcome “this difficult situation.”

Some context: Fico is known to be a Kremlin sympathizer. He had previously blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Putin into launching the invasion of Ukraine, repeating the false narrative Russia’s president has used to justify his invasion.

Slovakia’s defense and interior minister blamed rising hate speech and division for the political atmosphere in the country, which they said led to the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico. 

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital where Fico is being treated, Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák said: “This needs to stop immediately. I beg you, please. Hate is not an answer to hate.”

Visibly shaken and struggling for words during the news conference, Kaliňák said it was “time for some people to have a hard look into the mirror.” 

“There is no question that this was politically motivated. The inability to accept the choice of people, which some may not like … it leads to this,” he said. 

Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said “everyone needs to calm down.” 

“Those who are endorsing this attack as well as those who are calling for some sort of a revenge. And I am asking you, the media too, please, use your power, your influence. Because until now, it was some of you who sow the hate,” he said.

Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok speaks during a press conference at a hospital in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, on Wednesday.

The assassination attempt of Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was politically motivated, the country’s interior minister said, adding the information is based on “initial interviews with the suspect.”

“This assassination attempt was politically motivated and the suspect made the decision to do it shortly after the presidential election,” Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok told a news conference outside the hospital in Banská Bystrica, where the prime minister is being treated.

“It is clear this was politically motivated,” Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák said, speaking alongside Eštok.

Kaliňák said Fico “suffered multiple injuries,” but did not provide any details when reporters asked if the prime minister was shot in the stomach.

This post has been updated with additional comments from the defense minister.

Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said.

“The perpetrator shot five times. The prime minister is in a critical condition, still on the operating table. We will do everything we can to investigate this,” Eštok said at a news conference.

The perpetrator has been arrested, he added.

Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico from a helicopter to a hospital in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Robert Fico is “still fighting for his life,” Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia’s minister of defense, said in a press conference in the hospital where Fico is being treated.

“We are singularly focused on the health of Robert Fico. And we are hoping he will be strong enough to pull through,” Kaliňák said.

Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the country is “experiencing the worst day of its democracy” following an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico.

“For the first time in the 31 years of our democratic sovereign republic, someone has decided to express a political opinion not in an election but with a gun on the street,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

“It is a terrible disappointment for me personally, how our joint effort to belong to the civilized world of the most advanced countries went in vain,” the minister added.

He also said that he would do everything to ensure that “the assassination attempt, not only on the prime minister, but also on the entire democratic establishment, is investigated in detail as quickly as possible.”

The minister went on to call the attack a “huge warning to the whole of society,” adding that “if we do not stop now, we will destroy everything that binds us together as a nation.”

The Russian ambassador to Slovakia condemned the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico and said he “was shocked” to hear about the incident.

The letter was published on the embassy’s official Facebook page.

Fico is known to be a Kremlin sympathizer. He had previously blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Russia’s president has used to justify his invasion.

President Biden speaks at the US Capitol in Washington, on May 15.

US President Joe Biden expressed alarm at the attempted assassination of Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, calling it a “horrific act of violence.” 

“I am alarmed to hear reports of an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico,” Biden said in a statement. “Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia. We condemn this horrific act of violence. Our embassy is in close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.”

Fico was shot multiple times after a government meeting in Handlova, Slovakia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during a meeting in Moscow, in August 2016.

In what was a stunning comeback for the controversial politician, Robert Fico won a third term as Slovakian prime minister last October after running a campaign that criticized Western support for Ukraine.

Fico had pledged an immediate end to Slovak military support for Ukraine and promised to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions in what would upend Slovakia’s staunch backing for Ukraine.

Ahead of the election, Fico made no secret of his sympathies toward the Kremlin and blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Russia’s president has used to justify his invasion.

While in opposition, Fico became a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, especially when it came to criticism of the European Union.

Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018.

He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests over the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak reported on corruption among the country’s elite, including people directly connected to Fico and his party SMER.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Slovak President Zuzana Caputova (not pictured) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 10.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg and other European leaders are condemning the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday.  

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: “Shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. I wish him strength for a speedy recovery. My thoughts are with Robert Fico, his loved ones, and the people of Slovakia,” he said on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” she said on X.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “The attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is appalling. We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighboring partner state’s head of government. Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere. We sincerely hope Robert Fico recovers soon and express our solidarity with the people of Slovakia,” Zelensky said in a post on X.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: “I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!” Orban wrote in an X post.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: “I learned with deep shock the news of the cowardly attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. All my thoughts are with him, his family and the friendly Slovak people,” she said in a statement from her office.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: “Horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister. Spain stands with Robert Fico, his family and the Slovak people at this extremely difficult time. Nothing can ever justify violence,” Sanchez said in an X post.  

Slovak Member of Parliament Maria Kolikova takes an oath In Slovak's Parliament in Bratislava, Slovakia, on October 25, 2023.

An opposition member of Slovakia’s parliament said the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico is “an attack on the internal security” of the country.

”An attack on the prime minister is clearly an attack on the internal security of Slovakia, and at this moment it is important to know what his condition is and then we can comment on it in more detail,” Maria Kolikova told reporters in Bratislava.

”This escalation that is taking place in society can really lead to what we are experiencing now. It is right that we have different political views, but there is interference in society and this has resulted in this act of violence,” Branislav Gröhling, another opposition lawmaker, said.

Police officers stand guard near the cordoned-off crime scene where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot earlier in the day, in Handlova, Slovakia, on May 15.

An eyewitness who was at the scene where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot said it felt like a “nightmare” after hearing three shots, describing them as “quick,” firing one after the other as if you “throw a firecracker on the ground.”

“I heard three shots, it was quick one by one like if you throw a firecracker on the ground,” eyewitness Lubica Valkova told Reuters on Wednesday. 

Responding to a question from Reuters as to whether she saw Fico’s injury, Valkova said she “saw a scratch on a head and then he fell next to the barrier. 

“I think it is a nightmare, I’ll tell you I think I will not wake up from this,” the 66-year-old told Reuters. “That this is not possible to happen in Slovakia.”

Recalling what happened, Valkova said she wanted to shake Fico’s hand and was taking pictures of him when he walked out of the building. She said she was excited and had been waiting a long time. 

“At this moment we heard something like a bang, we thought someone made a joke and threw a firecracker on the ground, that was my first reaction,” Valkova told Reuters.

The Slovak resident told Reuters that she had been waiting from 10 a.m. local time and police did not search people who were waiting, adding that “we could have shown our empty hands.”

Slovak president Zuzana Caputova speaks during a press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, on May 15, after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured.

Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova said in a news conference that the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was “also an attack on democracy.”

The president said the suspected gunman was detained and that police will release more information in due course.

“Until then, I ask you, please, do not spread unconfirmed rumors,” she added.

Security officers move Slovak PM Robert Fico in a car after a shooting incident, after a Slovak government meeting in Handlova, Slovakia, on May 15.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is hospitalized in a life-threatening condition Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt.

The shooting took place after an off-site government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. The suspected gunman was among a small crowd of people waiting to greet the prime minister on the street outside the cultural center, where the meeting took place, local media reported.

Footage from the scene shows the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by several of his staff, with the car speeding away from the scene as soon as he is inside.

Fico was first transported to a local hospital and then taken by helicopter to a major trauma center in Banska Bystrica, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away.

A statement posted on Fico’s official Facebook page and his party’s website called the attack “an assassination attempt.”

“He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition. The next few hours will be decisive,” according to the statement.

No one else was injured in the attack, according to Slovak Labor Minister Erik Tomáš.