Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico walks during the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on April 18, 2024. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is expected to survive a multiple-shot assassination attempt following surgery, according to the country's deputy prime minister. The Slovakian premier's condition has stabilized but remains serious, Reuters cited a hospital official as saying on Thursday. "The shooting of the prime minister is first and foremost an attack against an attack on a human being – but it's also an attack on democracy," she said in an officially translated video. Fico has served as prime minister of Slovakia for around 10 years across three mandates, heading the Smer (Direction) party.

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Persons: Robert Fico, Tomas Taraba, Šutaj Eštok, Zuzana Caputova, it's, Fico Organizations: Slovakia's, EU, BBC, Reuters, CNBC, Slovakian Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovakian, Sky News, Russia, RTVS Locations: Brussels, Slovakian, Slovak, Handlova, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, Ukraine