The health condition of Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, is critical after being shot in an assassination attempt.

According to the information of the Slovak media, the prime minister Robert Fico would have been hit by bullets several times. Un à l’abdomen, un à la tête. Il est dans un état grave.

He is against the Brussels agenda and the war in Ukraine. He was accused in 2022… pic.twitter.com/lllVFetQKX

In a statement, the prime minister’s office says that Robert Fitso is “between life and death” and was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Banska Bystrica.

In particular, the government office reported that an assassination attempt against Prime Minister Robert Fico took place today at the government’s off-site meeting in Hadlova.

“He is currently being airlifted to Banska Bystrica because it would take too long for Bratislava as he needs to undergo an operation immediately.”

According to a representative of the hospital in the city of Hadlova, where he was taken, the Slovak prime minister was conscious during his transfer after the assassination attempt, adding that his vital functions have stabilized.

The incident occurred after a meeting of Slovakia’s government in front of a cultural community center in the town of Hadlova, about 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, according to news TV station TA3. A 70-year-old man was arrested for the incident.

Slovakia’s prime minister was greeting people outside the cultural center when several shots were fired from the crowd, the BBC reports.

According to Reuters, four shots were fired, with one hitting the Slovak prime minister in the abdomen.

Slovakia’s emergency service said it had dispatched a helicopter for a 59-year-old man in Hadlova after receiving reports that he had been shot, adding that action was still ongoing.

A Reuters witness said he heard several gunshots and saw a man being arrested by police.

The witness said he saw security officials push someone into a car and drive away.

Who is Robert Fitzo?

Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia after elections last September, leading a populist-nationalist coalition after his Smer-SD party won the election.

Slovakia’s government was meeting in Hadlova, 190 km northeast of Bratislava, as part of a tour of the country’s regions after taking power late last year.

Fitzo returned as prime minister of the country, which is a member of the European Union and NATO, for a fourth time last year.

During a career spanning three decades, Fitzo has moved between pro-European and nationalist positions opposed to European Union and US policies.

After the shooting, Slovakia’s largest opposition party canceled a planned protest against reforms of the government’s public broadcaster that had been scheduled for Wednesday night.

The reactions and condemnations both inside the country and from heads of state were immediate.

Slovakia’s president said she was shocked by the “brutal” armed attack on Fico.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, condemned “the despicable attack” on Fitzo.