Slovakia PM Fico shot and wounded, TASR agency reports

(Reuters): Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting after a government meeting, news agency TASR reported on Wednesday.

TASR cited parliament's vice-chairman Lubos Blaha as saying Fico was shot and injured. A Reuters witness said he heard several shots and that he saw a man being detained by police.

The Reuters witness said he saw security officials pushing someone into a car and driving off. The government office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Several shots were fired, according to TASR. Fico’s condition was not immediately known. Slovakia’s emergency medical service said it sent a helicopter ambulance to the scene.

The town of Handlova where the shooting happened is about two hours’ drive from the capital Bratislava. The government was there for an off-site meeting.

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová condemned what she called a “brutal and reckless” attack on Fico. “I’m shocked. I wish Roberto Fico all the strength in this critical moment to recover from the attack,” Čaputová wrote on Facebook.

Fico won a third term as Slovakian prime minister last October after running a campaign that criticized western support for Ukraine. Ahead of the election, Fico made no secret of his sympathies towards 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.