Slovak PM's recovery would take extremely long time

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico (photo: Getty Images)

The recovery and recuperation of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who sustained gunshot wounds to the abdomen in an assassination attempt on May 15, will be extremely long, according to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Slovakia Robert Kalinak.

The Slovak official, speaking to journalists, noted that Fico had suffered very serious injuries. However, the politician's recovery process is on the right track.

"The prime minister's recovery is finally on the right track. This recovery will be extremely long as his injuries are very serious," Kalinak told AFP.

Fico's deputy also told media representatives that the hospitalized head of government is already eating.

Kalinak, who was present during the shooting of Fico, added that if the bullets had hit the prime minister a few millimeters in the other direction, the gunshot wounds could have been fatal.

Fico has already undergone two surgeries, each lasting several hours, at a hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica. On Wednesday, the hospital stated that his condition is described as satisfactory.

Assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Fico

Earlier, it was reported that on May 15, after a government meeting in the town of Handlova, writer Juraj Cintula attacked Robert Fico and fired five shots at the official. The Prime Minister was urgently taken to the hospital with injuries and underwent surgery.

Local police have already charged Cintula with premeditated murder out of revenge, which carries a penalty of 25 years to life imprisonment.

Later, Slovak Minister of Defense Robert Kalinak stated that Fico had undergone another operation, but his condition remains very serious.

For more details on the assassination attempt on the Slovak Prime Minister and the possible motives of the attacker, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.