The Slovakian Prime Minister was shot and wounded outside the Culture Ministry following a cabinet meeting

The Slovakian Prime Minister has been seriously injured in a shooting outside of the country’s culture ministry.

PM Robert Fico, 59, was taken to hospital after being hit in the chest, abdomen and arm in the town of Handlova, northeast of capital Bratislava, while greeting supporters.

He is believed to have been shot while meeting people nearby, with a reporter from Dennikn.sk saying he heard several shots before seeing the prime minister being carried away by security guards and driven away from the scene.

A suspect has been detained. Someone in the crowd reportedly yelled ‘Robo, come here’ before the shots were fired.

Local news spoke to two witnesses who were with Fico when the gunshots rang out.

The older man told Dennikn.sk: ’I was just going to shake his hand.’ Three or four shots are believed to have been fired.

He was seen being rushed away in a black car (Picture: Reuters)

A man was seen detained on the ground after the altercation (Picture: Reuters)

Another woman added: ‘When the shots rang out, I almost became deaf.’

Deputy Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic has blamed the shooting on journalists, referring to those from Denník N as ‘disgusting b*stards.’

A large cordon has been put in place around the area of the shooting and the Ministry of Culture was evacuated, with other members of government taken to safety.

President Zuzana Caputova condemned the ‘brutal and ruthless’ attack on the prime minister.

He said: ‘I’m shocked. I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack.’

Deputy speaker of parliament Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident during a session of Parliament and adjourned it until further notice.

Fico previously served as the PM of Slovakia between 2006 to 2010, and from 2012 to 2018. He’s a part of the Direction – Social Democracy party, which he founded in 1999.

He resigned in 2018 amid public outcry over the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak.

Kuciak’s death, which implicated high-level corruption, sparked nationwide protests.

Though he stepped down from the premiership, Fico remained influential within SMER-SD and Slovakian politics, continuing to shape the country’s political landscape.

Since returning to power last September, Fico formed a Eurosceptic three-party coalition which has sought close ties with the Kremlin, and has repeatedly pressured Ukraine to sign a peace treaty with Russia, causing friction amongst its allies in Nato.

In February, he told public broadcaster RTVS: ‘There has to be some kind of compromise.

‘What do they expect, that the Russians will leave Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk? That is unrealistic.’

In February, Fico shut down the country’s anti-corruption office, prompting widespread street protests and warnings from Brussels about safeguarding the rule of law.

Thomas Brown