The individual accused of shooting and causing serious injuries to Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that he carried out the act in opposition to the government's policy towards Ukraine, as per a court document obtained by AFP on Thursday.

Slovakia was shocked last week when Fico was shot four times while greeting supporters in the central town of Handlova.

After being swiftly taken to the hospital, he underwent two extensive surgeries at a nearby facility in Banska Bystrica. The hospital reported on Thursday that he is still in a "serious but stable" condition.

The suspected shooter, identified by Slovak media as 71-year-old poet Juraj Cintula, has been accused of premeditated attempted murder and was detained pending trial following a hearing on Saturday.

"During the interrogation, he stated that since he does not agree with the policy of the current government... he decided to act," pretrial judge Roman Puchovsky wrote in a decision on Saturday.

The document was sent to AFP via email on Thursday by Katarina Kudjakova, the spokesperson for the special penal court located in Pezinok, northeast of the capital.

The accused notably expressed disagreement with the government's choices, including the decision to abolish the special prosecutor's office, halt military aid to Ukraine, and alleged persecution by the media.

"He repeated that he did not want to kill [name redacted] but wanted to wound him and impair his health, that he aimed at his lower torso," Puchovsky added.

"He realizes that he acted completely impermissibly, that he should not have harmed the victim," the judge stressed.

"He sincerely regrets his actions," the judge said.

In addition to his current stint as premier, Fico headed the government in 2006-10 and 2012-18. Since returning to office last October, Fico has made a series of remarks that have soured ties between Slovakia and neighboring Ukraine. After he was elected, Slovakia stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. He had already pledged during the electoral campaign not to provide Kiev with "a single bullet."

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