Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico was shot dead on Wednesday after a meeting in the town of Handlova, local media reported.
Fico was shot dead after holding a cabinet meeting in the Trencin region of central Slovakia. according to This was reported by the Slovak news agency TASR.
According to the English-language newspaper Slovakia Spectator, as the prime minister was chatting with supporters, an unknown assailant opened fire on Fico outside the house where the meeting was being held, knocking him to the ground. They reported hearing multiple gunshots before he collapsed.
Fico’s condition or the motive for the attack were not immediately clear.
Fico is a pro-Russian leader who won power in parliament for the fourth time in October last year.
In April, a close ally of Peter Pellegrini was elected president, further strengthening the party’s grip on power in Slovakia, strengthening its pro-Russian views and increasing animosity with the West.
—Updated at 9:57 a.m.
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