SLOVAKIA's pro-Putin prime minister Robert Fico has been shot in a suspected assassination attempt.
The politician, 59, has been rushed to hospital after he was attacked leaving a government meeting.
The alleged assassination attempt took place in the town of Handlova, some 100 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava, according to local media.
Four shots were fired - with one hitting populist leader Fico in the abdomen.
The incident took place in front of the local House of Culture, where the PM had come to meet with supporters.
The suspected assassin was filmed being overpowered and detained by police who have sealed off the scene.
Fico's condition is not yet known.
President Zuzana Caputova condemned a "brutal and ruthless" attack on the premier.
"I'm shocked," Caputova said. "I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack."
During a three-decade career, Fico, 59, has weaved between pro-European mainstream and nationalistic anti-Brussels and anti-American positions.
Yet, for the last few years he has embraced a more extreme position, appealing to anti-western and pro-Russian sentiment.
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