https://sputnikglobe.com/20240515/slovak-prime-minister-fico-injured-in-shooting-at-govt-field-meeting-1118453332.html

LIVE UPDATES: Robert Fico's Life No Longer in Danger - Deputy Prime Minister

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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured on Wednesday in a shooting at the venue of the government’s offsite meeting, the Pravda news agency reported, adding that the attacker was detained.

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LIVE UPDATES: Robert Fico's Life No Longer in Danger - Deputy Prime Minister

13:10 GMT 15.05.2024 (Updated: 21:59 GMT 16.05.2024)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured on Wednesday in a shooting at the venue of the government’s offsite meeting, the Pravda news agency reported, adding that the attacker was detained.

"Robert Fico was wounded after an offsite meeting of the government. The attacker shot several times. He was detained by police," the report said.

According to Pravda, the attacker made several shots before the police detained him.

The incident occurred after the government meeting when Fico came out to to the public. The prime minister was rushed to a hospital by helicopter.

Earlier, the government of Slovakia decided to focus on humanitarian aid and no longer send weapons to Ukraine. The Cabinet led by Robert Fico did not approve the proposal of the previous government, which concerned sending another package of military aid to Ukraine worth 40.3 million euros. It mainly involved ammunition. This package of military aid was supposed to be the 14th from Slovakia; since February 2022, the republic has sent weapons, ammunition, and equipment to Ukraine worth 671 million euros.

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09:00 GMT 16.05.2024

Police Charge 71-Year-Old Man With Murder Attempt on Slovak Prime Minister - Reports

Slovakia's police charged the detained 71-year-old man of attempting to commit the premeditated murder of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Markiza broadcaster reported on Thursday.

According to the police, the writer Juraj Cintula attempted to murder the prime minister out of revenge, the broadcaster said, adding that he faces 25 years in prison to life sentence.

07:38 GMT 16.05.2024

Doctors Stabilize Fico's Condition, Situation Still Serious - Slovak Defense Minister

Doctors have managed to stabilize the condition of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kalinak said on Thursday.

"During the night, the doctors managed to stabilize his condition, and at this moment further actions are being taken that should improve his condition. The situation is really serious," Kalinak told reporters.

06:03 GMT 16.05.2024

Slovak Prime Minister Still in Life-Threatening Condition After Surgery - Reports

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in a life-threatening condition following a complicated surgery after Wednesday's assassination attempt, Slovak broadcaster Markiza reported on Thursday, citing a hospital source.

05:09 GMT 16.05.2024

Kremlin - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.05.2024

World

Russia Strongly Condemns Attack on Slovakia's Fico, Calls It 'Great Tragedy' - Kremlin

16 May, 05:08 GMT

23:22 GMT 15.05.2024

WHO Chief, Mexico, Nicaragua Condemn Attack on Slovak Prime Minister Fico - Statements

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Mexican and Nicaraguan authorities have condemned an assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and wished him a speedy recovery.

"Appalling news from #Slovakia. We condemn such acts of violence and hope for the swift and full recovery of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia," the WHO chief said on X on Wednesday.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo sent a letter on Wednesday to Slovak President Zuzana Caputova condemning the assassination attempt on Fico.

"It was with great concern that we learned the news of the criminal attack... on Robert Fico... These crimes against peace and the common good must be carefully analyzed by the peoples and governments of the world who deny terrorist actions... especially when we... condemn all crimes committed against sovereign peoples and governments around the world," the letter, published on El 19 Digital news portal, read.

Ortega and Murillo expressed solidarity with Slovakia and opposed attempts to "silence" the peoples who make their own decisions, the letter said.

"We express to you our solidarity and... reaffirm our absolute rejection of violent attempts to silence the voices and goals of the peoples and governments, who in sovereign dignity make their own decisions," the Nicaraguan officials said.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry, following the attack on the Slovak prime minister, rejected all forms of violence.

"The Foreign Ministry condemns the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, reaffirming our rejection of any kind of violence. We wish him a speedy recovery," the ministry said on X.

22:05 GMT 15.05.2024

Campaign Against Fico Ongoing in Europe for Years - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister

The campaign against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been going on throughout Europe for years, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin told Sputnik.

“We will learn the truth with time, but the incredible hatred and campaign that has been conducted for years against Mr. Fico in Slovakia and throughout Europe remains a fact. The essence of the hatred against him is in his political orientation,” Vulin said.

“Whether we find out that the assassination attempt is directly related to this or not, there is no doubt that what happened is for the most part a consequence of hatred and the media campaign against Mr. Fico. You know, in the West, different political beliefs are punished, punished by different ways. Sometimes sanctions are imposed against you, sometimes you are shot," he said.

Fico was shot Wednesday during the government's field-meeting in the city of Handlova located 190 kilometers (118 miles) northeast of Bratislava. The prime minister was rushed to a hospital, reportedly with wounds to his abdomen and chest. Slovakia's TA3 TV channel reported that Fico had been placed in an induced coma after undergoing surgery.

In July 2023, the United States imposed sanctions against the head of the Security Intelligence Agency of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, who then resigned, and in November against Nenad Popović, innovation minister in 2017-2022.

21:56 GMT 15.05.2024

Robert Fico's Life No Longer in Danger - Deputy Prime Minister

Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba has said the life of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is not in danger at the moment, he will survive.

"I guess in the end he will survive... He's not in a life threatening situation at this moment," Taraba told BBC on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Standard news agency reported, citing a reliable source, that Fico has been discharged from surgery. His condition is stable and doctors expect him to be able to communicate in the morning, according to the report.

The prime minister was shot earlier in the day during the government's field meeting in the city of Handlova, located 190 kilometers (118 miles) northeast of Bratislava. He was rushed to a hospital, reportedly with wounds to his abdomen and chest. Slovak media later reported that Fico was placed in an induced coma for 24 hours after undergoing surgery.

20:02 GMT 15.05.2024

Slovak Prime Minister Placed in Induced Coma After Surgery - Reports

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been placed in an induced coma after undergoing surgery, Slovakia’s TA3 TV channel reported on Wednesday.

Fico’s condition now depends on the ability of his body to cope with injuries, as he did not suffer critical blood loss, according to the broadcaster.

The prime minister was shot earlier in the day during the government's field-meeting in the city of Handlova located 190 kilometers (118 miles) northeast of Bratislava. He was rushed to a hospital, reportedly with wounds to his abdomen and chest.

18:32 GMT 15.05.2024

US Psyop Vet: Slovakian PM Fico's Assassination Attempt Seems to Be NATO Operation

The assassination attempt of the Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico seems to be a NATO operation and might constitute the next phase of the bloc's war against Russia, attempting to target foreign leaders opposing the US-led proxy war in Ukraine, according to Scott Bennett, former United States Army psychological warfare officer.

"The assassination attempt of the Slovakian Prime Minister bares a remarkable similarity to the Kennedy assassinations," Bennett told Sputnik.

"Contrary to [the assessment of] amateur analysts, the 71 year-old assassin is the perfect assassin for this kind of an operation: they are ideologically prejudiced based on their history, and this is used when targeting individuals who are incapable of change or mental political, adaptation, and are easy to emotionally explode."

Another suspicious factor that resembles the Kennedy assassination is the Slovakian Secret Service's tactics of space and openness against the prime minister, continued the expert, citing the fact that Kennedy was shot as his Secret Service slowed down the car he was traveling in, which left the president exposed.

Some US researchers believe that Kennedy was eliminated by US "deep state" in 1963 because of his policy of détente with the Soviet Union after the successful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

The Slovakian prime minister has been known for his anti-militarist stance and reversing his predecessors' policy to arm Ukraine, which in his opinion, unnecessarily prolonged the bloodshed, Bennett believes.

18:10 GMT 15.05.2024

Assassination Attempt Politically Motivated - Slovak Interior Minister

The head of the Slovak Interior Ministry said that the assassination attempt on the prime minister was politically motivated. Robert Fico is still undergoing surgery and his condition is critical, he added.

"The attacker fired five shots during the assassination attempt, the prime minister is in critical condition, he is still in the operating room," the minister told reporters.

17:54 GMT 15.05.2024

Fico’s Surgery Successful, His Condition Stable - Reports

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico underwent a successful surgery on Wednesday after being shot multiple times, and his condition now is assessed as stable, Slovakia’s TA3 TV channel reported.

17:53 GMT 15.05.2024

Assassination Attempt on PM 'Threat to Everything That Has Adorned Slovak Democracy' - Slovak President-Elect

"I am horrified by where the hatred towards another political opinion can lead. We don't have to agree on everything, but there are plenty of ways to express our disagreement democratically and legally," Peter Pellegrini commented.

"An assassination attempt on one of the highest constitutional officials is an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy. If we express different political opinions with guns in the squares, and not in polling stations, we endanger everything we have built together in 31 years of Slovak sovereignty," he added.

17:38 GMT 15.05.2024

UNGA President Condemns Assassination Attempt on PM Robert Fico

The President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Denis Francis condemns the assassination attempt against the current Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, the UN Spokeswoman Monica Grayley said on Wednesday.

“The President of the General Assembly Mr Denis Francis has expressed his deep shock and sadness after hearing about the attack against the Prime Minister of Slovakia His Excellency Robert Fico a few hours ago,” Grayley said in the UN briefing.

17:32 GMT 15.05.2024

Fico in Serious Condition, Undergoing Surgery - Slovak Labor Minister

"The prime minister's condition is serious," Labor Minister Erik Tomas told Slovakia’s Markiza broadcaster, adding that he can not provide more information.

The minister also said that the surgery is still ongoing.

17:31 GMT 15.05.2024

Russia Strongly Condemns Assassination Attempt on Fico - Foreign Ministry

Russia strongly condemns the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico and wishes him a speedy recovery, Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"We wish a speedy recovery to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. We know him as a friend of Russia, who … is not afraid to express his point of view, which often does not coincide with the mainstream of the ‘collective West," Zakharova said on air of the Rossiya 1 broadcaster.

17:16 GMT 15.05.2024

'I Don't Agree With the Government's Policy' - Fico's Attacker

17:06 GMT 15.05.2024

Doctors Treating Fico Still Unable to Stop Open Bleeding After Gunshot Wound - Reports

Doctors treating Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico are still unable to stop open bleeding in the abdomen after the gunshot wound, Slovakia’s Standard news portal reported on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Standard reported that Fico was shot once in the shoulder and twice in the abdomen.

17:04 GMT 15.05.2024

Slovak Opposition Has Distanced Itself From Fico's Attacker

Progressive Slovakia said he was not a member of their movement and that they condemned "this disgusting act and are concerned about further escalation of tensions" in society.

16:57 GMT 15.05.2024

Who Could Be Behind Slovakia PM Fico's Attempted Murder?

Big power games could be behind the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Serbian-American Journalist Nebojsa Malic believes.

"[Fico] basically reversed the previous government's policy towards Ukraine because the previous government had handed over a whole bunch of weapons," Malic told Sputnik.

"[He] has been very critical of the EU and NATO position towards the conflict and has said this needs to be negotiated to stop the fighting, which is essentially the [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban position."

For NATO, Slovakia is one of the key conduits for all sorts of military support for Ukraine, Malic explained, adding that losing both Slovakia and Hungary as transit routes of weapons to Ukraine would drastically complicate things for the military bloc.

The attempted killing of Fico evokes memories of Cold War-era Operation Gladio by NATO and the CIA to carry out targeted assassinations and psychological warfare.

"I wouldn't be surprised at all if some Gladio structures persisted," Malic said, adding that the West has a record of eliminating elected officials that oppose its policies.

16:34 GMT 15.05.2024

US Embassy in Close Touch With Slovak Government, Ready to Assist - Biden

"I am alarmed to hear reports of an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. 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," Joe Biden said in a statement commenting on the attempted assassination.