Slovak PM wounded from gunshot, attacker arrested
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Fico was reportedly shot five times after an address to the public.
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A screengrab from a video published by Pravda depicting the moment Fico was being transported after the assassination attempt on May 15, 2024 (Pravda)
According to the Pravda news agency, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered an injury after he was shot at the location of the government's field meeting on Wednesday, and the assailant has been captured.
The assailant fired five times before police apprehended him, Pravda reported.
It was after a government meeting where Fico was addressing the public that the shooting took place. The prime minister is currently being transported to a hospital by helicopter.
Slovakian former Prime Minister Robert Fico won the parliamentary elections in October, claiming a 5% support lead over his main rival, as the United States and its allies are increasingly finding it difficult to justify more international and public support to Kiev - even among their own countries - amid underwhelming field performance.
His socialist political party Smer landed nearly 24% of the votes - granting him 42 seats out of 150 in the legislative assembly - while the liberal Progressive Slovakia party garnered around 17%.
Slovakia has been a generous provider of arms - including advanced hardware such as fighter jets and air defenses - to Ukraine since the war broke out. The country also served as a hub for the transport of weapons provided by NATO members to Kiev and a maintenance station for military equipment damaged in the war.
Meanwhile, Fico is known to be a fierce opponent of European and American policies of prolonging the war in the neighboring country. He has also publicly declared that he will not support Ukraine's accession to NATO. Campaigning under "Not a single round" for Kiev, Fico has put Western states on their toes.
After Fico's win, Kiev's allies are becoming more concerned in anticipation of Fico implementing a pivot in the country's foreign policy, potentially straining its cooperation with NATO and the EU. What is even further making Western officials anxious is the possibility that this win will spread a wave of anti-Western-policies sentiment across Europe.
As a result of his stances, Kiev previously blacklisted the former prime minister, accusing him of supporting Russia, although his main criticism of the war is that Washington is exploiting it for profits and pushing to prolong it.
It is noteworthy that May 21 is being considered as a date for jointly recognizing the State of Palestine by Ireland, Spain, and several other EU member states, RTÉ News reported last week.
Two sources revealed that May 21 is being studied as the possible date for the declaration, and a third source said that communications between Ireland and Spain, as well as Slovenia and Malta, have been increasing in a vision of the countries jointly recognizing Palestinian statehood.
