Slovak PM Fico in ‘life-threatening’ condition after being shot; EU leaders decry 'brutal attack'

Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the continent.

The 59-year-old has been transported by helicopter to hospital in the central Slovak city of Banska Bystrica to receive treatment.

A post on Fico's official Facebook page said the prime minister was "shot multiple times and is in a life-threatening state" after an "attempted assassination."

"In this moment he is being transported by helicopter to Banska Bystrica, because to Bratislava it would take too long considering the urgency of the matter. Coming hours will decide," the post said, according to an NBC translation.

Slovakia's Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar confirmed to CNBC that Fico was shot several times at close range shortly after a government meeting in the central Slovak city of Handlova.

"I strongly condemn this insidious attack on the Prime Minister as an attack on democracy," Blanar said in a statement. "We all believe that the Prime Minister will overcome this difficult fight," he added.

Separately, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová "strongly" condemned the "brutal and ruthless attack" in a Google-translated Facebook post.

Fico returned to power in September last year after campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform.

European leaders reacted with shock to the news and wished Fico well.

"I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said via social media platform X.

"Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico and his family," she added.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he was